The World Water Day is celebrated annually on the 22nd of March. Its main purpose is to address issues relating to water resources, their management and the supply of portable water. In Ghana, portable water coverage is very low—about 45% for rural areas and 70% for urban centers. However, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aim at halving the number of people without portable drinking water by 2015. Water, undoubtedly is a universal commodity and very important for the survival of mankind. Its use spans from domestic, industrial, agricultural to power generation. The use and importance of water is felt most when our taps cease to flow and our rivers run dry, we suddenly realize that water indeed is life. Sometimes, this tells us why people struggle to their last breath to get even the worse water—from canals and ponds. It is difficult for one to live without water, especially those of us in the tropical zone. It is anticipated that by 2020, the consumptive demand of water would be 5.3 billion m3 of portable water. Would our water supply systems be developed enough to meet this demand?

Ghana’s Water Resources

All recharge to water resources is precipitation. Rainfall in Ghana is between March and November; 2240mm of annual rainfall is recorded in the extreme southwest, it reduces eastward to 800mm at the southeastern part. It then increases to 970mm at the northeastern part of country. Freshwater resources are classified into groundwater and surface water. In Ghana the surface water/river basins have been classified into three systems. They include the Volta Basin System, which is made up of the Daka, Oti, Black and White Volta and Lower Volta River, the Southwestern Basin System encompassing the Bia, Tano, Ankobra and Pra rivers, and the coastal basin system which consist of Tordzie, Densu, Ayensu, Ochi-Nakwa and Ochi-Amissah rivers. All these water systems carry huge untapped quantities of water into the sea annually. Lake Bosomtwe situated near Kumasi, formed by meteoritic crater is also a surface water resource. All rivers, pose a great opportunities from the construction of Hydroelectric and Water Supply dams to the construction of Irrigation Systems.

Groundwater is found almost everywhere in Ghana, except some part of the Voltain where economic quantities of groundwater is scarce. Groundwater in Ghana is less susceptible to pollution. Groundwater has been a major source of water supply to rural communities, without the reach of treated water supply systems. Groundwater resource is cheap to subscribe despite the fact that an initial capital investment is required. It can be tapped by both households and individuals at a relatively economic cost.

Water Pollution

Despite the role water plays in the existence of man on earth, we have not taken the necessary care of our water bodies especially in Ghana. Industrial, domestic and other activities have polluted our water bodies. Small and Medium Scale Industries are culprits of this offence. They direct their waste liquids directly into nearby streams and rivers. In our individual houses, with the exception of human waste, all other waste liquids are directed into our water bodies. Could we even imagine that during downpour, some households empty the contents of their septic tanks straight into the runoff? It is not worth to talk about the polythene bags and bottle and their provocative contents floating on and around our river bodies. Every river in Accra and other cities have been turned into cesspool and you would be turned down by the miasma that would penetrate into, and arrest your breath when you approach them. How wouldn’t be so when we see people in broad-day-light attending to natures call right in the middle of the Odaw and other river bodies right in the middle of the Capital City? Rivers in Accra should have a source of tourist attraction not ‘tourist repulsion’. They should have been converted into canals for boats, and other recreational activities. In farming communities, some farmers, farm at the river banks, destroying the vegetation cover and worse of all, introduce harmful chemicals into the rivers. Yet in rural areas, refuse disposal points are situated in marshy areas and river banks. Hmm, Ghanaians have no respect for water!

Groundwater pollution occurs when there is a contact with the underground water table—in refuses pits and septic tanks. The contents of these are dissolved by the water and become solutes in the groundwater, these solutes would be in solution for several millions of years!. We can avoid groundwater contamination by avoiding the construction of septic tanks in areas where the water table is shallow. Old hand-dug wells should not be decommissioned by filling them with waste materials. Instead, they should be filled with inert materials, like earth and rock. Groundwater pollution is of regional effect and may cover several km2 of land.

Developmental Issues

In Ghana water issues are related to the Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing. In 1996, the Water Resources Commission was formed to oversee water resources in the country. Plans are also underway to create various departments that will see to the protection of the various river basin systems in the country. Agencies such as the Ghana Water Company Limited, Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Water Transport and Highway, Ministry of Local Government play crucial sectorial roles in the development of water. For a more coordinated approach, Integrated Water Resources Management Concepts is used to coordinate the efforts of the various agencies and sectors. Generally, water resource protection and development is considered poor in the country.

Eugene Sam-Okyere

Department of Geological Engineering

KNUST, Kumasi

[Email: ugsam2000@yahoo.co.uk]