More than 800,000 residents in 269 rural communities in the Ashanti Region are expected to benefit from a climate-smart water purification project aimed at improving access to safe drinking water.
The project is a climate mitigation initiative under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, being developed through bilateral cooperation between the Government of Ghana and the Republic of Korea to expand access to safe drinking water in rural communities while contributing to greenhouse gas emission reductions.
Access to safe drinking water remains a challenge in many rural and hard-to-reach communities in Ghana.
Although 87.7 per cent of households nationally have access to basic drinking water services, access remains lower in rural areas, at 74.4 per cent, compared with 96.4 per cent in urban areas.
Some rural communities continue to depend on untreated or inadequately treated water from boreholes, wells, rivers, streams and other local water sources. In some communities, public water supply systems are unavailable, insufficient, unreliable or difficult to extend.
Some households boil their drinking water, while others consume untreated water or treat only part of the water they require because suitable water treatment facilities and affordable alternatives are unavailable.
Project
To help address this challenge, the International GHG Reduction Project through Water Purification System Installation/Supply (IGRP) is being developed to benefit selected rural communities in Ghana.
Nana Oppong Adade IV (left), Chief of Bobin, having a taste of the water after the inauguration of the facility
It is being developed by a consortium comprising EWC Co., Ltd., IBK Securities Co., Ltd., Glory & Tech Co., Ltd., and CookClean Ghana Ltd.
For shortlisted communities, a baseline survey will be conducted to confirm household drinking water sources, the safety and reliability of existing water supplies, current household water treatment practices, and other relevant baseline conditions.
The project will install solar-powered, community-level water purification systems designed to treat locally available raw water and provide safe drinking water to beneficiary communities.
It is being developed in accordance with the applicable Gold Standard methodology and requirements for safe drinking water supply activities.
In addition to climate mitigation, the project aims to support improved access to safe drinking water, sustainable rural infrastructure, and broader sustainable development benefits for participating communities.
Stakeholders’ consultation
At a stakeholders’ consultation meeting to discuss pertinent issues ahead of the full implementation of the project last Wednesday, the Assistant Manager, EWC, Catherine Chu, said the project aims to provide reliable safe drinking water to communities in Ghana through sustainable community water-treatment and supply systems.
The water system at Bobin
“An affordable user-based tariff will be considered to cover routine operating costs, maintenance, repairs and consumables.
Water supply and system performance will be monitored, and regular water-quality testing will be carried out to maintain safe drinking-water quality” she stated.
The General Manager, Korea Environment Corporation, K-eco, Dr Byung-churl Ko, expressed gratitude to their partners in the Ghanaian government for your support and cooperation towards the execution of the project.
“To ensure this project delivers meaningful results and brings tangible benefits to local communities in Ghana, your continued interest and close collaboration will be essential” he told the stakeholders.
In his remark, the Managing Director of the Finance Division, IBK Securities Limited, Seong-II Um, said aside from the 50 per cent financing that would be provided by the Korean government, the remaining 50 per cent would be secured by IBK Securities towards the execution of the project.
He said “water is an essential basic necessity which must be accessible to people. Korea through the project is partnering with Ghana to bring water closer to residents in remote communities”.
Pilot facility
Meanwhile, in a bid to show commitment towards the realisation of the project, a pilot water purification facility was on Thursday inaugurated for the chiefs and people of Bobin in the Mampong municipality.
Catherine Chu, Assistant Manager, EWC responding to a question during the open forum
Over the years, the community members relied on some untreated water sources for their daily household activities.
Addressing the ceremony, the Chief Representative, Ghana Office, Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI), Dr Hong Seok Kim, said the project represented another important milestone in the longstanding partnership between the Republic of Korea and Ghana, one that is built on shared development goals, exchange of technology and a commitment to climate action.
“This Project will bring clean, efficient, and safe water solutions into communities showing that access to safe drinking water can be pursued not only as a development action, but also as climate action” he said.
The General Manager, Korea Environment Corporation, K-eco, Dr Byung-churl Ko, said “it is our sincere hope that this facility will provide clean and safe water to the residents of the Bobin community while supporting your health and well-being”.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Mampong, Yakubu Issifu, who welcomed the intervention, said the project was not just about turning on a tap but rather a shift in the life, health and dignity of the people.
He said water coverage within the municipality was about 45 per cent requiring urgent measures to bridge the gap, saying “since assuming office, the assembly has drilled a number of boreholes but it is not enough for the people”.
Strict maintenance
“Let us treat this facility as our shared wealth and protect it from misuse as well as actively support the committee tasked to oversee it.
We must commit to its strict maintenance and safeguarding” the MCE said.
Residents speak
Some of the residents in the Bobin community, who could not hide their joy and excitement, lauded all stakeholders who played diverse roles towards the provision of the water.
A community member, Ama Gyamfua, said the project had come at the opportune time to put an end to their age-old plight of struggling for water on a daily basis.
She said "I am delighted that this water facility has been provided.
We can now have access to potable water with ease".
A Junior High School pupil, Alice Asamoah, indicated that with the provision of the water project, the phenomenon of walking daily to nearby streams to fetch water has ended.
Distress calls
For his part, the Chief of Bobin, Nana Oppong Adade IV, said over the years, the community made distress calls to the government and other organisations to come to their aid to provide them with clean water.
He commended the benefactors for responding to their distress calls for access to safe water thereby ending their age-old struggle for water, adding “this will be a sigh of relief for women and children who trek long distances daily in search of water for domestic and other uses”.
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