SEATTLE — Between 1990 and 2015, approximately 2.6 billion people gained clean water access, meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) drinking water target five years ahead of schedule, in 2010.

Despite this incredible achievement, 663 million people remain dependent on dangerous water sources, such as surface water from rivers and lakes, unguarded dugouts, or springs for everyday activities such as drinking, cooking and personal hygiene.

To date, 147 countries have met the MDG target for clean water access, including Ghana. But there is a disparity in access to clean and affordable water between rural and urban areas, depending on income across regions in Ghana.

Ghana has the world’s largest man-made reservoir, Lake Volta, which covers approximately 8,482 square kilometers and drains to about 70 percent of the total land area of Ghana. Hence, there is plenty of surface water nationally to meet the estimated national demand of about 321 million cubic meters.

In 2015, 88.7 percent of the population in Ghana is reported to have been using improved drinking water sources, as compared to 55.5 percent in 1990. However, in the areas that still lack improved drinking water sources, drinking contaminated water has made diarrhea the third most common illness at health centers. Moreover, 25 percent of all deaths among children under the age of five can be attributed to diarrhea.

There are numerous factors that add to the deficiency of clean water access in Ghana. In rural communities, most people draw from surface water sources that are rich in microbial content and life-threatening parasites. Likewise, in certain parts of the country, the water has substantial discoloration and contains hazardous minerals. During the dry season, these surface water sources dry up frequently.

Due to the expansion of the chemical, mining, oil and other water-dependent industries, combined with urban development and farming, the demand for water has been on the rise and threatens to outpace the existing supply.

Rural communities lack fundamental capacity and training to maintain wells and hand pumps. Lack of proper sanitation facilities and hygiene adds further to the contamination of existing water sources. Additionally, some cultural beliefs discourage the use of latrines in rural areas.

There has been significant progress made implementing simple techniques to effectively treat contaminated water in rural areas. However, the majority of rural water systems are not sufficiently robust – current estimates indicate that 29 percent of all hand pumps in rural and peri-urban areas are broken, and 49 percent are only somewhat functioning. The private sector, NGOs and the Ghanaian government are determined to install wells and boreholes across the country to reduce child mortality and improve public health.

However, once a water source is improved, it is reported that the water quality is not generally monitored. Improved water sources were sampled across Ghana from mostly boreholes, wells and some piped water from different regions and tested for the chemical quality. The respective costs of installing boreholes and wells are about $5000 and $1600, generally paid by the government or NGOs, but ongoing maintenance is expected to be the responsibility of the local community.

For the smooth functioning of the water treatment system and to recuperate the cost of maintenance, the government or NGOs establish a water payment system where either an annual fee or usage fee is charged to communities.

Many groundwater sources were not considered for testing due to poor chemical water quality. Taking into account the cost of unsuccessful borehole installation, the prospect of incorporating suitable water treatment with maintenance costs is being discussed.

Donors and NGOs have done a remarkable job in recent times to finance clean water access and sanitation services, especially in the rural areas. Some of these organizations include:

Pure Home Water

Its two goals include providing financial relief to the people most in need of sanitation, hygiene and safe drinking water in northern Ghana, and establishing sanitation facilities and hand-washing stations. Saha Global (Community Water Solutions)

Saha Global works toward empowering rural Ghanaian women to providebusiness opportunities for clean water and solar electricity access. The women learn to use alum and chlorine to treat contaminated water from their local dugouts and make it safe to drink. To date, 84 clean water businesses have been created, and every one of these businesses are in full operation as of today. Water.org

Water.org is currently working in the Volta Region and Upper East Region, among the poorest parts of the country. Water.org works with local communities to construct wells, latrines and bio-sand filters, and provides health and hygiene education.

Currently, many water sources are not used due to lack of storage capacity, equipment breakdown and shortage of maintenance funding. To improve overall water quality across the nation, these concerns need to be addressed in conjunction with the water supply provision, and possible treatment to guarantee the sustainability of improved water resources.

– Swapnil Mishra

Photo: Flickr