Kosmos Energy and Safe Water Network, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), have fulfilled their commitment to provide safe, clean water for thousands in more than 70 deprived communities in four coastal districts in the Western Region.

The final phase of the $1-million project funded by Kosmos Energy, under the Small Town Water Supply System, has been completed and is expected to serve more than 100,000 people in the beneficiary communities.

At the moment, seven high capacity water purification facilities have been installed in the communities, with public water kiosks in every community for easy access by community members.

To ensure proper management, local operators and more than 64 vendors have been engaged to take care of the facilities, with structured sustainable financial system to ensure regular maintenance by the beneficiary communities.

Speaking at the handover ceremony for 19 new communities, the Vice-president and Country Manager of Kosmos Energy Ghana, Mr Ken Keag, said: “I am proud that Kosmos has played such a pivotal role in bringing water to people in these 19 communities.”

“We are pleased to partner with Safe Water Network, with support from the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, the government and other stakeholders to energise our communities with skills necessary to own and operate these systems for the long term.”

He said in November 2012 when construction of the project began, “one of the joys of Kosmos Energy was that the project was not imposed on the people, but various surveys carried out indicated that water was one of the most important needs of the people along the coast,” he said.

He said even though the facilities covered the targeted communities, the station had enough capacity to extend beyond the beneficiary communities.

Mr Keag recalled that when the project began in 2012, it provided water for about 30,000 people in communities. The second and the final phase, Mr Keag said, saw the additions of more communities and that it was an exciting moment for Kosmos to provide not just another project but one that answered the needs of the communities.

The Country Director for Safe Water Network, Mr Charles Nimako, said 50 systems would be added over the next three years across the country.

“This will provide over 200,000 more people with access to safe water. Partners such as Kosmos Energy are important to our ability to reach more people,” he said.

The CEO of Safe Water Network, Mr Kurt Soderlund, said even though it was costly to install the facilities, “keeping it going is the real challenge. We have developed a comprehensive package of support, training and knowledge on how to design, launch and maintain these safe water stations.”

He assured the communities that in the next three years, with the help of partners such as Kosmos Energy and the government, “we can make a real impact on people’s lives.”

The project began in 2012 in the Jomoro District, and was extended to other communities in other districts.

Some of the communities are Nzulezu, Benyin, Ekwe, Anochie, Ngalekyi, Ngalekpoley, Krisan, and Baku. The newly added communities include Agyan, Akonu, Apataim, Domunli, Egyambra, Miemia and Princess Town.

The newly built facilities have four water stations and three substations with the capacity to produce approximately 26,000 litres of potable water per day for each community and extend service pipelines to kiosks in the communities.

The project also includes health and hygiene programmes, as well as behavioural change communication strategies, which will be implemented in beneficiary communities and schools.

Community volunteers, schoolchildren and other groups were expected to form the base of an outreach programme. Training will be organised for these teams so they can visit homes and educate people on safe water handling.

Since it began in 2012, the water project has benefited over 27,000 people in 19 communities in four districts.

There are now seven working water purification facilities, eight local operators and more than 64 vendors.

Local technical and financial capacity building initiatives and a sustainability monitoring system have been put in place to ensure a successful management of the water facilities.