The Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is partnering stakeholders in the water supply value chain to mitigate water supply challenges in Tamale and its environs.

The CRS has proposed the establishment of a Water Fund for the Greater Tamale enclave to facilitate source water protection at the Nawuni sub-catchment of the White Volta River.

Mr Daniel Mumuni, CRS Ghana Representative, made this known at a stakeholder meeting in Accra.

The meeting sought to generate inputs into the fund structure in terms of revenue, support generation and partnerships for its success.

Mr Mumuni said the project sought to utilize nature-based solutions to improve water supply in the area as well as mitigate human activities underpinning the challenges in accessing water.

“The overall goal is to utilize nature-based solutions to improve both the quality and supply of water and mitigate the impact of natural disasters, as well as create a healthy living environment to protect and enhance biodiversity within the White Volta basin,” he added.

He said they would use the Tamale metropolis as a case study to replicate the strategy in other parts of the country to secure the country's water bodies.

Mr Mumuni said the project formed part of CRS’s Urban WASH and Resilience Project, which addressed water security and sanitation challenges.

Mr Jacob Yendor, Deputy Managing Director of Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), said activities such as sand winning, illegal mining, among others, were causes of the water challenge in the area.

He said the activities had deteriorated the water bodies making it difficult for them to collect and treat enough water for domestic and economic use.

“We are all witnesses to artisanal mining, sand winning and other activities which are destroying our water bodies, and this poses a serious threat to our environment and our survival,” he added.

He said these man-made challenges resulted in water rationing of water in the Metropolis and its environs, thus, water was distributed according to schedules and areas.

Mr Yendor said due to the contamination, they could not process the needed supply, indicating that they normally lose close to 30 per cent as opposed to losing just 5 per cent of it if it was less contaminated.

Mr Ben Ampomah, Executive Secretary of the Water Resource Commission, said the project was imminent, saying, there was the need to find alternative ways to solve water challenges in the country.

“We have been focusing more on economic scarcities, however, we need to find innovative ways to Fund water from its resource base to supply. We have to look at other ways for the management and supply of the resource,” he added.

He said the government needed support to solve the water crisis in the country, especially in the area of Funding from stakeholders, private organisations and international bodies.