Accra, Sept. 18, GNA - A researcher on Thursday encouraged rain water harvesting to reduce dependence on Ghana Water Company Limited to ensure prudent water conservation and management.

Dr Fredrick Amu-Mensah, National Coordinator for the African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS), Ghana Chapter, said rain water was as potable as pipe borne water, if only it were handled properly to meet quality requirement.

Dr Amu-Mensah was speaking at a research dissemination workshop in Accra organised by the ATPS on issues influencing values attached to pricing of potable water.

The ATPS is a multi-disciplinary network of various stakeholders working to promote science and technology, especially through policy issues.

He therefore called on estate developers to construct underground reservoirs to store rain water, especially for use in institutions that consumed higher.

Touching on a recent survey in Greater Accra and the Ashanti regions to ascertain the willingness of consumers to pay for private water supply, Dr Amu-Mensah said 23 per cent of the respondents said they very likely to pay, whilst 38.4 per cent said free access to water was a right to life that could not be traded.

He said the statistics therefore showed that some still believed that water should not be paid for.

Others, he noted, were also willing to pay for only quality water at a reasonable cost and sustainable supply.

The ATP National Coordinator indicated that access and quality of potable water had also decreased, as a result of the population pressure.

"Where pipe borne water is accessible, it is not regular enough and people still access water sources that could pose health risks, "he added.

Dr Amu-Mensah also observed that although there were many laws regulating water conservation and management, the large number of implementing agencies affected its effectiveness. He therefore called for a merger of all the agencies in order to bring sanity into the management of water resources.