HOUSEHOLD WATER SUPPLY VULNERABILITY IN LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES IN GHANA: EXPERIENCES FROM ABOABO IN THE KUMASI METROPOLITAN AREA

Abstract

The process of urbanization holds great promise for economic and social progress of a nation. On the other hand this process is confronted with a lot of challenges. One such challenge is the increasing vulnerability to quality water supply among households in low income urban communities. In Ghana, urban households do not have water flowing regularly through their taps from the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and therefore have to supplement their limited supply with water from sources such as Streams/Rivers and Wells. Indeed, whereas the quantity of available water is decreasing, the quality is also compromised mainly due to high population growth accompanied by low investments by the state. This research examines the extent of water supply vulnerability among households at Aboabo, a low income community in the Kumasi Metropolitan Area. Using both quantitative and qualitative approaches, the research revealed that water from source other than GWCL was highly polluted. This is evidenced from the higher counts of faecal coliforms and E. coli in the water bodies. Again, the research showed higher concentrations of physicochemical properties which were above the WHO standard for safe drinking water. The concentrations of microbiological and physiochemical properties in the water sources had implications on human health as most of the diseases reported were water related. The paper argues that Kumasi is well endowed with water resources, but the amount of water available for distribution within the city is far from uniform with the low income communities seriously underserved. The paper concludes that if this situation is not addressed with specific policy interventions, the consequence could be disastrous.