Water Scarcity in the Tamale Metropolis and the Role of the Informal Water Sector in Urban Water Supply

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April, 2015
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Abstract
The study sought to assess the nature of operations of informal water supply services in the Tamale Metropolis and the effect of these services on household water access and living conditions. The case study design was adopted with the mixed research approach to gather and analyse data using questionnaires administered to households (141), informal water vendors (63), the Ghana Water Company Ltd. (GWCL) and the Metropolitan Water and Sanitation Unit of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly. The study revealed that 98 percent of households in the Metropolis face water access challenges due to inadequate coverage, intermittent water supply or lack of documentary requirement for connection to the public water supply network. Consequently, 47 percent of the households were unable to obtain the basic minimum per capita water supply (of 20 litres) required to maintain a healthy life. The poor water supply was due to high water demand from the rapidly growing urban population in the Metropolis vis-à-vis the limited capacity of the GWCL to provide adequate and regular water supply. Overall, 96 percent of the sampled households used alternative means of accessing water supply. The informal water sector was the main alternative source of water for over 69 percent of the sampled households for over a decade. The study revealed that the informal water sector eased water-related social hardships among the urban households. Water supply from vendors provided vital support for households to send their children to school and on time. Some households that hitherto depended on uncovered wells and other unclean water sources were now privy to potable water supply. Households relied on the sector due to the convenience, availability and the flexible mode of payment for water supply. The vendors sourced water mainly from the GWCL and mechanized boreholes/wells. The informal water sector was not regulated. About 98 percent of the vendors operated without any permit. Financial and technical support was not readily available to vendors. With reference to the above, it is recommended that the informal water sector be registered and integrated into the formal urban water supply system to ensure support and effective monitoring of the quality of services (especially water) supplied by the water vendors to urban households. This should be done by the GWCL in collaboration with the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly.
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A Thesis submitted to the Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Planning April, 2015
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