Maintenance of rural water supply facilities in the Builsa North District of the Upper East Region of Ghana

Abstract

In Ghana, the sustainability of rural water supply facilities has been a recurring national issue. Therefore, this study examined the maintenance structures, as they exist for the effective management of water supply facilities in the Builsa North District. The study was descriptive, non-interventional and applied the mixed method approach to collect data from 138 water users who were randomly selected from hand pump communities. The study found that the management architecture of the water supply systems of the district hinged on the District Water and Sanitation Teams (DWSTs), Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) committees, area mechanics and pumped spare-parts dealers. The significant constraints to pump maintenance were inadequate logistics, finance, and remuneration of DWST, poor financial mobilisation, financial embezzlement, and high attrition among WATSAN committee members. Additionally, poor transport support for area mechanics, bad access routes, and scarcity of spare parts were also significant constraints to the maintenance architecture. The study recommends government and donor/agency to provide requisite financial and logistical support to the DWSTs, WATSAN committees and area mechanics and provision of spare parts at affordable prices.