The Management and Sustainability of Water Supply Facilities in Rural Communities: Lessons from the Volta Region of Ghana

Abstract

This article is based on research conducted between July 26 and September 12, 2007 to find the extent to which target communities, working through Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) Committees, were able to continuously maintain water supply facilities extended to them under the Volta Region Community Water Supply and Sanitation Programme (VRCWSSP). At-tempts were also made to determine the factors that influenced their ability to achieve uninterrupted water supply through an efficient maintenance management culture. The results of the investigations became the basis for making some policy recommendations for, first, enhancing the capacity of the Watsan committees to maintain the water supply facilities on a sustain-able basis and, second, developing a framework for re-shaping thinking about community management of water supply systems in general