Case study 1

Alternative attempts to reduce urban water problems

By Emmanuel Addai - WaterAid - Ghana (June 2003)

Urban water supply in Ghana is another serious problem that the government is facing. The problem prevails in all the urban areas. In many parts of Accra, residents are left at the mercy of tanker operators, while those who cannot afford their services have to walk long distances in search for water.

Abubakar Abdurahman works with the Akuapem Community Development Programme (ACDEP), a WaterAid partner in Ghana. Abu, as he is popularly called, studied the acute water problem his community members were facing about six years ago and managed to find a solution.

The Ghana Water Company Limited was not able to ensure regular flow of water to the houses in the community. The people were therefore compelled to walk to the offices of the company, about one and a half kilometres away, to buy water in buckets.

He constructed a hand-dug well in his house at New Juaben Zongo, near Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital. Instead of the manual hand pump that his organisation usually promotes, Abu installed an electronic pump and an overhead tank. The well, about 27 feet deep, is lined and assures the people of equally good quality water as the one from the Water Company.

Water from the overhead tank flows through a standpipe, requiring no physical efforts at tapping. In fact, its operation is the same as any other tap. Abu has also connected pipes to his kitchen, toilet and bath and needs not carry water at all in his house.

Reasons for constructing the well

• Irregular supplies from GWCL
• Irregular billing system
• Income generation (Sale in buckets)
• Need for control over water supply in terms of regularity and quantity

Benefits he gets from the well

• Uninterrupted water supply
• No water bills
• Absolute control over water supply in terms of quantity
• Better water taste and colour
• Regular income from sale for his family. Abubakar (though not the only source of income) sells an average of 2,400 litres per day. A bucket of 12 litres was sold for ¢150

Benefits to Neighbours

• They have a substitute to the GWCL water
• They no longer walk over a long distance to buy water
• They are assured of regular flow of water
• They did not need any extra energy to fetch the water
• The water was safer than the open wells that other neighbours were using

Uses

Selling, drinking, bathing, cooking, washing and all other domestic needs.

Problems associated with ownership

None. He said electricity bill was not a problem since the machine is switched off most of the time and the profits from the sale were enough to offset the cost.

Though a capital intensive project, if a few people could be supported to own such wells in urban communities, it is likely that the benefits would spill over to others: at least it would bring water closer to them and lessen the burden of walking over long distances to search for water. It would also protect them from overexploitation by private small-scale water enterprises.