Understanding the evolution of water scarcity in Zinder town (Niger) from 1900 to the present
The town of Zinder has been confronted to a recurring drinking water scarcity since the 1920’s. The causes of this problem are diversely interpreted according to the contexts and periods. This paper proposes a critical look at this situation for a better understanding of the problem. From an inventory of etiological narratives analyzed with the tools of the myth critique, on the one hand, hydrometric data and surveys, on the other hand, questions relating to the production and management of water, as well as people’s pessimism as to a definitive solution to this problem are studied. Cross-analyses highlight three main explanations of the issue of water in Zinder. The popular imagination teaches that the lack of water finds its explanation in myths, which far from being mere cultural ornaments, are part of a perspective of legitimizing African people’s power against the white-skinned invaders. In addition, drilling flow analysis reveals there is a low availability of water resource due to the crystalline subsoil, which has been very little altered. Thus, of the fifteen or so water drilling points sampled around the city, the average productivity is 0.57 m3∙h-1 (±0.47). Sixty percent of water drilling points have below the average flow; therefore, they are barely considered as productive. Finally, the volumes of water produced by pumping stations are always lower than the increasing needs of the population. To manage the shortage, the city’s water management services have developed strategies such as the use of water access voucher, the limitation of connections and selective water cut. Despite the building of hydraulic infrastructures and the scientific arguments, the populations are less and less convinced about the definitive resolution of this problem due to the persistence of the shortage. Therefore, depending on the informants and the spatial scale of analysis, the shortage can be explained as a natural, economic, and socio-political issue.