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Community Water and Sanitation Agency Water Safety Framework

Description:

Ministry Of Water Resources, Works and Housing

The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) was established by an Act of Parliament of the Republic of Ghana, 1998 (Act 564). The Agency is mandated to facilitate the provision of safe water and related sanitation services to rural communities and small towns. As part of government policy to achieve a rapid water and sanitation coverage nation wide, the National Community Water and Sanitation Programme (NCWSP) was developed, and launched in 1994. The CWSA facilitates the implementation of the NCWSP whiles Ghana Water Company Ltd (GWCL) manages urban water supply. Provision of safe drinking water and related sanitation services are some of the key outputs expected to significantly contribute to public health protection, improvements in the livelihoods of communities and poverty reduction. Monitoring of water systems forms an integral part of the role of the Agency towards ensuring that water safety targets are achieved.
Under the NCWSP, a high proportion of communities are supplied from groundwater sources. This choice result from the availability of groundwater compared with the other water sources, and the high cost implications associated with purification of surface water sources. Groundwater although abundant in many of the rock formations in Ghana also has challenges related to water quality and low yield, depending on the rock formations. Ghana is underlain by different geological formations. The most widely spread across the land mass of the country are the Birrimian, Tarkwaian, Dahomeyan, Togo Series, Buem, Voltaian and the coastal sedimentary Basins. The rock types associated with these formations and the development activities undertaken within the environmental setting present varying water quality challenges. It is also recognized that levels of water quality parameters differ within the regions depending on types of formations and rocks, and economic, industrial or other related development activities that impact on the environment and water resources.

Bibliographical Information:

GOVERNMENT OF GHANA (2010) Community Water and Sanitation Agency. Water Safety Framework

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