Nigeria has enough surface and ground water to meet domestic demand, but as of 2004 half of its urban population did not have access to piped water. And for those who did have access, water taps flowed only a few hours a day. Rapid urban population growth of 5.7 percent per year heightened the difficulties faced by State Water Agencies (SWAs) in meeting the need for piped water and expanding production capacity. Poorly maintained and aging pipes were subject to frequent leakages, and some newly built pipes carried no water owing to intermittent power supply. Nigeria's water sector performance contrasts with that of smaller countries in West Africa, such as Niger and Burkina Faso, which, with fewer resources, have undergone major institutional reforms and made significant progress in the urban water sector. The case study is part of a series on Doing Development Differently in Nigeria. This series seeks to support the World Bank's Nigeria country team in strengthening its effectiveness by tailoring interventions to the local context using World Bank support to leverage system wide change and systematically learn by doing. This case study is also part of the Science of Delivery case study program that is contributing to the Global Delivery Initiative's Library of Delivery Case Studies. The Global Delivery Initiative is collaboration across the international development community to forge a new frontier in development efforts worldwide.