SUSTAINING THE PROVISION OF QUALITY, DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION FACILITIES: A STUDY IN THE PERI-URBAN AREAS OF THE WA MUNICIPALITY OF THE UPPER WEST REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

Sustaining the provision of potable water supply and sanitation facilities for improve access has become a topical issue during international conferences. The World Bank (1997) indicated that many facilities were out of use because of improper policies adopted to ensure sustainability. This thesis sets out to investigate the accessibility to potable water supply and sanitation and the health consequences in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region of Ghana. To achieve the research problem and objectives, questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, observations, and in-depth interviews were employed to establish factors affecting the sustainable access to potable water supply and sanitation facilities. The study identified some challenges that could impede access to safe drinking water, safe sanitation and hygiene practices. These include locking up of water facilities, payment for water collected at the facilities, high cost of drilling boreholes, lack of training, lack of spare parts, ineffective WATSAN committees, high cost of building materials, lack of funds, low water pressure, socio-cultural practices, high cost of soap, low hygiene education/promotion and inadequate water and sanitation facilities. It appears that the Municipal Assembly lacks the financial resources to support the drilling of boreholes in the rural areas. It is recommended that the Municipal Assembly pays more attention to the water needs of rural communities and also gives ultimatum to landlords to provide toilet facilities for their tenants to discourage open field defecation. Also, the Environmental Health Department should be adequately resourced and empowered to play its roles effectively. More importantly, the CWSA must ensure that all communities have well trained WATSAN committees in place for timely repair and maintenance of boreholes and sanitation facilities for sustainability.