Skip to main content

Published on: 06/03/2013

WASHCost briefing note No 9 report on findings on the cost of providing water services in small towns using piped water systems in Ghana. It unearths the factors affecting sustainable water service delivery and provides cost information for planning sustainable water service in the small towns in Ghana. The work is based on the results of a study on 12 small towns water supply systems in Central region of Ghana.

Access to water in Ghana has been increasing steadily with achievement of the MDG target for water ahead of time. However, the increased water coverage is threatened by high levels of non-functional systems, estimated at 30 % or more in Ghana. The high rate of non functional water systems adversely affects the delivery of sustainable water services. The lack of attention to all the water service life cycle costs is one of the threats to the delivery of sustainable water services.

A good understanding of the cost of providing water services is important for planning, budgeting and
implementing sustainable water services. However, the level of understanding of these costs in Ghana is limited. For example, it is not well known how much it cost to maintain a small town piped water system to deliver a desired level of service. It is therefore essential to understand the, importance of the cost components, the magnitude and relative magnitude of the life cycle costs and the consequence of ignoring the life cycle costs for water services delivery.

Back to
the top