Erinle River

In the Yoruba tradition, Erinle was a great hunter who became an orisha. He is said to have conducted the first Olobu of Ilobu to the site of the town of Ilobu, and to have protected the people of the town from Fulani invasions.[1] He is usually described as a hunter but sometimes as a herbalist or a farmer. It is said that one day he sank into the earth near Ilobu and became a river. He is known all over Yorùbáland.[2] The cult of Erinle is found in towns throughout the former Oyo Empire. His shrines contain smooth, round stones from the Erinle River. [1] The name may be derived from erin (elephant) and ilẹ (earth), or from erin and ile (house).[2]

The Erinle River rises just south of Offa. It and the Oba River which rises about 15 kilometres (9 mi) north of Ogbomosho, are the main tributaries of the Osun River. The Erinle River has residential, commercial and industrial areas on both sides, which as of 2012 released untreated waste into the river. It was also polluted by excess fertilizers and pesticides from farmland.[3] The old and new dams on the river supply water to Osogbo, the state capital, which also uses boreholes and wells to obtain water.[4] Malaria and diarrhea are rampant in Osogbo, particularly in the high-density residential areas where the people depend on public tap water.[5]

The old Erinle dam was completed in 1954, with a reservoir capacity of 5,300,000 cubic metres (190,000,000 cu ft). It is located in Ede town. Tests in June and July 2011 showed that treated water from the dam had a high presence of total coliform and was not suitable for drinking without further treatment. Bacteria in the treated water were also highly resistant to commonly used antibiotics in Nigeria.

The new Erinle Dam in the Olorunda LGA lies upstream from the old Ede Dam on the Erinle River. It is owned and operated by the Osun State Water Corporation. The Otin River enters the dam from the left.[6] The reservoir behind the Ede-Erinle dam extends about 12 kilometres (7 mi) north along the Erinle River and covers the lowest portion of the Otin River.[7] The Erinle Dam, completed in 1989, is 330 metres (1,080 ft) above sea level. The crest length is 677 metres (2,221 ft) and maximum height is 27 metres (89 ft). The total storage capacity is 94,000,000 cubic metres (3.3×10⁹ cu ft). The spillway discharges at 800 cubic metres (28,000 cu ft) per second. The dam is used for water supply, flood control and fishing.[6] Schistosomiasis, both urinary and intestinal, was reported downstream from the dam in 1991. A study in 2000–01 found that the prevalence of the host snails and of human infection had increased significantly since then.[8]