This chapter examines the origins, dimensions, and problems associated with waterborne diseases and water supply in Makurdi, Nigeria, during the period of British colonial administration. Efforts are made as well to examine the nature of water supply during the precolonial period. The various methods used in preventing the outbreak of waterborne diseases, such as cholera, dysentery, paratyphoid fever, typhoid, giardiases, and schistosomiasis, will be discussed. During the precolonial period, the people in Makurdi continued to depend on undeveloped sources, such as rivers, streams, spring, wells, ponds, and direct rainfall, for their water supply. The water supply during this period was safe from all forms of pollution, and this meant that it was easy to mobilize the people for public work, such as clearing and cleaning in and around these sources of water. The people equally practiced their traditional method of “waste disposal.” Environmental hazards were dealt with appropriately.

The introduction of colonial rule, however, brought modern ideas of water supply, which remained the most dominant characteristic of Nigerian cities under the colonial government's town ordinance. These towns “were marked by segregations: The British officials lived in the best parts—the Government Reservation Areas—with exclusive clubs, recreation centers, hospitals, and other facilities, while indigenes lived in less comfortable places.” If the provision of water is about health, maintaining high-level sanitation, and improving the human condition, then several questions must be posed concerning colonial water supply methods: Did the British colonial authority introduce modern water supply to care for the health of the African population in Makurdi?