Cape Coast, Jan 20, GNA – The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), has estimated that about 30 per cent of groundwater sources in Ghana have high levels of iron, manganese, arsenic, fluoride, hardness and bacteriological contamination beyond the permissible limits of the Ghana standard for drinking water supply.
Similarly, according to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Report (MICSR) published in 2018, only seven per cent of water supplies in the rural communities and small towns meet the Country’s standards for drinking water supply.
The situation posed a high risk for water safety and contributed to numerous public health challenges in rural communities and small towns.
These were contained in the CWSA’s 2021 Report copied to the Ghana News Agency in Cape Coast.
The Agency noted that a good number of high yielding wells were capped, especially in the Northern parts of country due to the presence high levels of fluoride.
According to the Agency, some communities in the coastal belt also have high levels of salinity in groundwater, however, current community ownership and management (COM) did not provide the opportunity for correcting the anomaly.
“The management of Small Towns Water System are complex in nature as low capacity of communities and district assemblies to manage water systems persist”.
“Only 10 per cent of the 1022 small town water systems provide basic service in accordance with Ghana’s standards,” the Agency said.
The Agency noted that the deficit between production and consumption was high while about 40 per cent of consumers patronising water systems were not metered.
Also, in situations where water metres were provided, they were not standardized,
“There is no central system for calibration to provide standard measurements across all communities. These are technical matters that require solution by a technical organization,” it added.
GNA