SOURCES OF DRINKING WATER FOR HOUSEHOLDS

Story by: Boadu Gyarteng Emmanuel

Water is an essential and natural resource necessary for all living organisms to sustain their lives. Water is important for human health and plays a crucial role in bodily functions. In our households we use water for different purposes such as cooking, bathing cleaning and dish washing.

According to the Ghana Statistical service(GSS), there are three main sources of drinking water for households in Ghana are sachet water (37.4%), pipe-borne water (31.7%) and borehole/tube well (17.7%). In urban areas the two main sources are sachet water (51.5%) and pipe-borne water (33.6%) while in rural areas they are borehole/tube well (33.6%) and pipe-borne water (28.8%).

SOURCE: GSS

Ghana Statistical service says that, at least 90 percent of households in nine regions have access to improved sources of drinking water, of which Greater Accra (98.3%), Bono (97.5%) and Upper West (97.3%) have the highest, and Oti (77.1%), North East (74.8%) and Savannah (70.5%)regions, the lowest

Improved Water refers to water source that is likely to be protected from outside contamination such as pipe borne water, borehole, tube well, protected well, rain water, protected spring, bottled water and sachet water.(GSS)

SOURCE: GSS

Unimproved Water refers to the source of water which is not adequately protected from outside contamination, such as unprotected well, unprotected spring, tanker supply, vendorprovided, dugout, pond, lake, dam, canal and river/stream.(GSS)

Four in five households (79.9%) using unimproved sources of drinking water rely on surface water(river/stream/dugout/pond/dam/canal), and this is the case for 10 regions, with the highest in the Oti Region (98.1%). In Greater Accra Region, the dominant source is tanker service (78.8%) while unprotected well and spring dominate in Upper East Region (54.9%).

SOURCE: GSS

The use of sachet water as the main source of drinking water is widely an urban phenomenon (51.5%). It is the most used source of drinking water in Greater Accra (70.7%) and the least in North East (1.8%), Upper East (2.2%) and Upper West (2.6%) regions.

SOURCE: GSS

The source of drinking water for households is a vital aspect of public health and well-being. . Therefore, it is important  for households to understand the source of their drinking water and take necessary measures to treat and maintain it quality. By doing so, we can guarantee a healthier future for ourselves and our communities.