IMARHIAGBE E.E

Access to safe drinking water is critical for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, yet it remains a challenge in Nigeria, contributing to a high burden of waterborne diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the complex relationship between community perceptions of water quality and laboratory- confirmed health outcomes among residents in Ogbeson, a rural community in Edo State, Nigeria. The research employed a mixed-methods approach, combining socio-demographic and behavioral surveys with objective physicochemical and bacteriological analyses of drinking water samples. The population exhibited a relatively high educational level (49.5% with tertiary education) and moderate income. Water quality was assessed against World Health Organization (WHO) standards, and health status was determined through self-reported illness prevalence, particularly waterborne diseases.A major discrepancy was found between community confidence and actual water safety. A high proportion of respondents (78%) reported confidence in their main water source's reliability, often relying on sensory attributes (color, taste, odor) for quality assessment. This confidence directly contradicted laboratory findings of severe contamination, including pathogenic bacteria (E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus cereus, and Pseudomonas species) and chemical hazards like elevated nitrate (52.17 to 92.47 mg/L, exceeding the WHO limit of 50 mg/L) and acidic pH (4.43–6.37). The documented contamination correlated directly with a substantial acute disease burden: 42.7% of households reported water-related illnesses, with typhoid fever (55.7%) and diarrhea (42.3%) being the most prevalent. Despite high education and 74.1% of respondents treating water (predominantly by boiling), structural constraints undermined protective behaviors. Pervasive water supply intermittency (61.4% experiencing problems) and seasonal unreliability (94.2% during the dry season) necessitated unsafe water storage and increased recontamination risk. This was compounded by critical WASH infrastructure deficits, with 85.5% of the community lacking adequate facilities, particularly hand washing stations (87.1% lacking), alongside the near-total absence of community-based WASH programs (82.3% lacking). In conclusion, the Ogbeson community faces a public health emergency driven by the dangerous coexistence of high confidence in unsafe water sources, pervasive infrastructural failures, and an overwhelming burden of waterborne disease. Urgent, multisectoral interventions are required to resolve water supply intermittency, invest in foundational WASH infrastructure, and implement integrated community programs to align risk perception with objective reality, thereby achieving health equity and SDG 6 alignment