Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 2018, 6, 20-33 http://www.scirp.org/journal/gep ISSN Online: 2327-4344 ISSN Print: 2327-4336 DOI: 10.4236/gep.2018.62002 Feb. 9, 2018 20 Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection Improving Self-Supply of Urban Water and Sanitation Projects through Microfinancing in Nigeria Emma E. Ezenwaji 1 , Everistus U. Anyaeze 2 , Anthony U. Nwafor 3 1 Department of Geography and Meteorology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria 2 Department of Environmental Management, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria 3 Department of Civil Engineering, Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Nigeria Abstract Most water and sanitation projects in poor neighbourhood of urban Nigeria are executed through self-supply option. This is defined as an incremental improvement of WASH products e.g. water and sanitation structures by a household or small group of households which are financed by their own ef- fort and investment. It is indeed a concept which complements conventional water supply and sanitation funded by government. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to investigate the extent of the use of innovative financing especially group saving approach to improve water and sanitation projects in Awka town, Nigeria. Towards achieving the aim, data were collected through ques- tionnaires which were designed and administered on the respondents between January and April, 2016 and from other secondary sources. Data were ana- lyzed using Principal Component Analysis and Component scores to establish the extent of the use of this option in the 9 component quarters of the town. Result shows that some quarters have perfected using the self-supply option while in others, it is yet to be widely accepted. It is finally recommended among others that the urban water policy as well as urban water safety plan should be revised to include the option as a way of improving domestic water supply and sanitation in the town. Keywords Water, Sanitation, Households, Innovative, Self-Supply 1. Introduction The severe water supply shortages and poor provision of sanitation services by How to cite this paper: Ezenwaji, E.E., Anyaeze, E.U. and Nwafor, A.U. (2018) Improving Self-Supply of Urban Water and Sanitation Projects through Microfinancing in Nigeria. Journal of Geoscience and En- vironment Protection, 6, 20-33. https://doi.org/10.4236/gep.2018.62002 Received: June 16, 2017 Accepted: February 6, 2018 Published: February 9, 2018 Copyright © 2018 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access