Abstract:
The trade-off between full cost recovery and providing the urban poor with potable water in the
right quantity, quality and at affordable prices is ever increasing especially in African countries. Ghana, not
being an exception continues to struggle in its efforts to provide safe drinking water to the urban populace and
Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), the urban water service provider stands at the centre of this ordeal.
The company has been criticised for being inefficient in its management of the urban water supply due to
various reasons - technical, financial and political. This report reviews the water supply management in Ghana.
It further investigates by way of a survey, the perception of consumers in Ghana of the quality of the levels of
service offered them regarding water quality, quantity and reliability, as well as the affordability and
willingness to pay for improvements in the water services rendered by the GWCL. The survey came up with one
hundred and thirty-four (134) valid respondents – 56 directly handed out printed questionnaire respondents and
78 online respondents. The survey results show that most customers perceive the water quality and reliability of
the service received as being average and above, although over 78% of them have their water supply
interrupted at least once every week. The quantity of water received is shown as not being adequate, since 54%
of customers resort to other sources of water to supplement public supply. Even though the water quality is
rated as good, customers rarely drink water from this service, as 66.4% of them prefer drinking sachet or
bottled water. Most consumers (63.4%) think the current water prices are high and only about 3% are willing to
pay more to achieve full cost of water service and for a significant improvement to the supply system. The water
supply situation in Ghana should be recognized as a national issue and given higher priority. Major reforms
need to be made in both policy and practice if the levels of service are to match up to internationally accepted
standards. This would bring significant public health improvements and service improvements to wider
Ghanaian society
