Utilization of available water resources in the Northern Part of the Volta Region of Ghana

Abstract

A study on water supply systems in the Northern Volta Region was conducted between 1993 and 1996. The results indicated that about 2.6 % of all water delivery systems in the study area occur as pipe-borne water, 26.5 % are boreholes, 25.4 % and 11 % are hand-dug wells and dugouts, respectively. The remaining 34.5 % of water delivery system are available in raw forms as rivers, streams, springs and natural ponds. The study further revealed that water supply coverage in the area has slightly improved between the period 1990 and 1996 from lower than 40 to 44 % and 58 to 73 % in the rural and urban centres, respectively. While the general physico-chemical quality (e.g. ECw = 53 - 826 mS cm-1) of both surface and groundwater sources was considered good for domes-tic supply the results of bacteriological analysis showed extremely high levels of faecal and coliform counts, likely to cause health hazards.


Journal of Applied Science & Technology (JAST) , Vol.5, Nos. 1 & 2, 2000, pp. 87 - 97