Sustainable Water Access and Revenue Generation in Student Environments: The Role of School Management in Tamal and Solar-Powered Water Systems in Epe-Eredo Lga

Water scarcity represents a multidimensional challenge in Nigerian tertiary educational environments, adversely affecting hygiene practices, academic productivity, and institutional sustainability. This study investigates the integration of Thermal-Assisted Membrane and Automated Logistics (TAMAL) technology with solar-powered water distribution infrastructure to improve water availability and generate sustainable revenue streams across universities in Epe-Eredo Local Government Area (LGA), Lagos State, Nigeria. Employing a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were administered to 200 purposively selected stakeholders comprising students (65%), university administrators (13.5%), local government officials (16%), facility managers (2%), and renewable energy experts (3.5%). Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS v.25 (descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA), while qualitative responses were thematically coded in NVivo. Key findings reveal that 65.5% of students experience daily water shortages, spending an average of over ₦2,000 monthly on water alternatives. One-way ANOVA confirms statistically significant differences in alternative water source usage (F = 8.670, p = 0.0002) and stakeholder perceptions of implementation barriers (F = 8.423, p = 0.0002). The TAMAL-solar integrated system demonstrated technical feasibility, with projected operational cost reductions of 40% and an estimated payback period of 1.2 years under a user base of 1,000 students paying ₦1,000 monthly. Over 83.5% of respondents expressed willingness to pay for improved supply, while 78.5% endorsed a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) governance model. The study concludes that TAMAL-solar integration is technically feasible, socially acceptable, environmentally sustainable, and financially viable. A multi-stakeholder policy framework centred on institutional water governance, digital monitoring, and community co-management is proposed for scaling across peri-urban Nigerian universities.