The water supply and sanitation sector in Ghana is a sector that is in charge of the supply of healthy water and also improves the sanitation of water bodies in the country.
In Ghana, the drinking water supply and sanitation sectors face a number of issues, including relatively limited sanitation access, intermittent supply, significant water losses, poor water pressure, and pollution. Since 1994, the sector has been gradually reformed through the creation of an autonomous regulatory agency, introduction of private sector participation, decentralization of the rural supply to 138 districts and increased community participation in the management of rural water systems.
Between 2006 and 2011, an international company (AVRL) managed all urban water systems since under a 5-year management contract which expired after achieving only some of its objectives.https://www.world-psi.org/en/aqua-vitens-hands-over-operations-back-ghana-water-company The reforms also aim at increasing cost recovery and a modernization of the urban utility Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL). Another problem which partly arose from the recent reforms is the existence of a multitude of institutions with overlapping responsibilities. The National Water Policy (NWP), which was launched at the beginning of 2008, introduced a comprehensive sector policy. The National Water Policy was reviewed with an updated version in 2024.
Access The water supply and sanitation infrastructure is insufficient, especially in rural areas. There are substantial discrepancies between access data from various sources, partially because of different definitions being used by different institutions that are providing access data. According to the Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation of UNICEF and WHO, access to water and sanitation is as follows:
Urban(51% of the population) Rural(49% of the population) TotalWater 'At least basic' definition 88% 66% 78% House connections 33% 3% 18%Sanitation 'At least basic' definition 19% 9% 14%Sewerage ? ? ?
According to the United Nations 2015 MDG report, the target of halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water has been attained in Ghana. The share of non-functional supply systems in Ghana is estimated at almost one third, with many others operating substantially below designed capacity. Moreover, domestic water supply competes with a rising demand for water by the expanding industry and agriculture sectors.
About 88% of the urban population in Ghana have access to at least basic drinking water. Disparities exist between urban and rural safe drinking water access. According to the Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of 2011, urban dwellers are more likely to have access to safe drinking water than the rural dwellers at 91% and 69%, respectively. Consequently, dependency on unsafe water sources is higher in rural areas. The turbidites of most local surface waters in rural areas are greater than 200 NTUs (nephelometric turbidity units) and contain high microbial and faecal contamination, putting children and the rest of the population at high risk for water-related diseases.
Compared to the rest of Ghana, the three northern regions of Ghana are particularly deprived of clean drinking water, with one in ten children dying before their fifth birthday due to some water-related illnesses. In the main Northern Region of Ghana alone, 32% of the 2.5 million residents lack access to improved water sources and must often resort to contaminated drinking-water. Regarding sanitation, only 14% of the total population of Ghana are using an improved sanitation facility as of 2010.
Improved Drinking Water SourceUnimproved Drinking Water SourceHousehold connectionRivers or pondsBoreholeBucketProtected dug wellUnprotected wellProtected springUnprotected springPublic StandpipeVendor-provided waterTanker truck waterBottled (and sachet) water
This table presents the classifications of improved and unimproved water sources in Ghana since the end of the Millennium Development Goals, according to the WHO and UNICEF. As of the end of 2015, improved water sources included household water pipes, boreholes, protected dug wells and springs, and public standpipes.
Service quality Continuity of supply According to one estimate, one quarter of the residents in Accra receive a continuous water supply. Approximately 30% are provided water for 12 hours each day, five days a week. Another 35% are supplied for two days each week. The remaining 10% who mainly live on the outskirts of the capital are completely without access to piped water. According to another source, the situation is even worse: In February 2008 some communities within the Accra-Tema metropolis were served either once in a week, once in a fortnight or once in a month.AVRL: The Dodowa intervention
The continuity of water supply in rural areas and the Northern Region of Ghana are less frequent. Particularly in rural areas, locals are forced to fetch their own water from a variety of water sources depending on location: Tube wells or boreholes – a deep hole that has been driven, bored or drilled to reach ground water. The water is delivered by tube through a pump that is powered by a human, and the well is protected by a platform to prevent run-offs or bird droppings into the water. Protected dug well – well protected from runoff water by a well lining or casing raised above ground level. Rainwater collection – rain that is collected or harvested from surfaces and stored in a container for use. Water tank truck – water is trucked into a community and sold from the truck. Unprotected dug wells or springs – a well not protected from runoff or bird droppings. Cart with small tank/drum – water is sold by a provider who transports water into a community. Transportation is done by donkey carts or motoking. Surface water sources – rivers, dams, lakes, ponds, etc. All of them are really likely to be polluted, which will be dangerous for the people who drink from there. These are the most dangerous sources of water for the population in Ghana, since they may have so many bacteria and toxic product in them that the people will get infections and diseases, some of which could even kill ly.
Water contamination Drinking water quality
The lack of clean drinking water and sanitation systems is a severe public health concern in Ghana, contributing to 70% of diseases in Ghana. Despite significant strive by the government and its developing partners, about 76% of households risk drinking water contaminated with animal and human excreta. Widespread use of plastic drinking water sachets due to lack of available potable water has also led to increased plastic pollution, often polluting water bodies, choking storm-water drains and causing death of livestock. The country's gold mining industry has polluted 60% of Ghana's waters.
Due to unclean water and improper sanitation, Ghana has 1,000 children under five years old dying each year from diarrhoea, caused by polluted water. The water that they get from ponds, lakes or rivers is of bad quality. Consequently, households without access to clean water are forced to use less reliable and hygienic sources, and often pay more., p. 294
Contaminated drinking water, along with poor sanitation, are linked to transmission of water-related diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio. Due to drinking contaminated water, diarrheal disease is the third most commonly reported illness at health centres across Ghana. 25% of all deaths in children under the age of five are attributed to diarrhoea. In addition to lack of sanitation infrastructure, some cultural beliefs and views encourage open defecation. Of the total population in Ghana, 23% use open defecation as their sanitation facility. As many as 72% of people in the Northern Region open defecate, making it the region with the highest prevalence of open defecation in Ghana
The majority of waterborne illnesses are enteric diseases (i.e. intestinal diseases) transmitted through the faecal-oral route. In the transmission pathways of disease through water contamination, human feces from public defecation end up in water sewages and non-recycling latrines, which is then collected in the local surface waters by rainfall and ingested by local inhabitants through direct exposure, absorption and ingestion. Surface waters are the main drinking-water source for the communities of Northern Region, Ghana.
In 2024 at a stakeholder conference, Ing Harold Esseku, Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist at the World Bank disclosed that Ghana is on the path to improving water quality by 2030.
Effects on education Access to clean water has significant consequences for education in Ghana, particularly for girls. Water scarcity imposes substantial time burdens on households, diverting the time needed for productive and educational activities, with the burden falling disproportionately on women and girls, who are mostly responsible for water collection. Research conducted in Northern Ghana found that women and girls are the primary drawers of water for household needs due to patriarchal cultural norms, with water shortages weighing more heavily on women than men.
A study specific to Ghana found a 50% reduction in the time spent hauling water would the proportion of girls aged 5 to 15 attending school by approximately 7 percent point on the average, with stronger effects observed in rural communities. A mixed-methods study of rural Ghana found that over 67% of respondents reported water scarcity disrupting children's school attendance, with women and girls bearing the primary responsibility for fetching water often at the expense of educational opportunities.
Girls equally suffer from water shortage due to their constructed gender roles in assisting their mothers to collect water for household use, with their education being negatively affected as a result. Across 26 African countries, an estimated 4.63 million children were not attending school and 1.5 million had dropped out due to water scarcity-related factors, with children in households without water scarcity showing significant higher school attendance.
Wastewater treatment
Ghana's urban areas face a severe wastewater management crises driven by rapid population growth and inadequate infrastructure. As of 2021, nearly 71% of households in Ghana disposed of their wastewater by throwing it onto the ground, on the street, or outside their homes, according to the Ghana Statistical Service. Ghana generates approximately 12,710 tonnes of solid waste every day, with only 10% collected and disposed of properly. Untreated wastewater is frequently discharged into rivers and streams, affecting aquatic ecosystems and public health, while urban agriculture in cities such as Accra and Kumasi depend heavily on untreated wastewater for irrigation, raising serious concerns about food safety.
Treatment infrastructure remains critically insufficient. In the capital of Accr, only approximately 10% of generated wastewater is collected. The Korle Lagoon, Accra's principal drainage outlet, receives 80% of its pollution from wastewater, and the city's Waste Management Department is capable of collecting only 60% of waste generated daily, with the remainder dumped in open spaces, surface drains, and water bodies that flow into the lagoon. The lagoon recorded Total Dissolved Solids of 2,210 mg/l, far exceeding Ghana EPA standards, and has been described as an environmental nightmare, with approximately 60% of Accra's population contributing to solid waste pollution in its catchment area.