Completion of Sabke Dam Water Supply and Irrigation Project as a Boost to Water Resource Management in Katsina State, Nigeria

Abstract

The Sabke dam project created in 1999 was meant to harness and manage water resources of the area to supply water for domestic use and irrigation purposes in four local government areas in northern arid parts of Katsina State. However,years after the creation of the project the pumping station has not been completed and irrigation farming has not commented on the dam sites. The Federal Government under President Buharitook over and completed the project and it was commissioned on May 28^th 2018. The objectives of the study are to examine the situation before and after the dam construction and to explain the observations and complain of the benefiting communities despite the completion of the dam project. Data for the study were generated through direct observational techniques during three field visits to the dam site, water pumping station and irrigation fields including the administration of a structured questionnaire among the residents of nine villages across four local government areas in northern part of Katsina State. The results have shown that there are still limited areas that are supplied with water which is mainly Daura Township. Irrigation farmers on both the upstream and downstream could not be supplied with adequate water to boost dry season farming. It is therefore concluded that there should be comprehensive assessment and evaluation of the completion of the project by the State and Federal Governments.