Sustainable rural water supply management in developing countries; a case study of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency reform in Ghana

Year 2026, Volume: 1 Issue: 9, 63 - 81, 31.01.2026

Vıctor Oforı Agyemang

Abstract

The main management model for the National Community Water and Sanitation Program (NCWSP) in Ghana is the Community Ownership and Management (COM) model. This model entails training non-professional community members in the operation and management of water supply systems. The rural water supply in Ghana improved slightly from 27% to 62.13% between 1994 and 2017; however, the water systems have not been used to their full capacity. Again, a decrease in donor inflows of grants and loans to the sub-sector and Ministry of Finance policy announcements supporting sustainable initiatives call for Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) policy reform. The policy reform aimed to make CWSA a Utility Organization, directly in charge of delivering and overseeing piped water supply systems for small towns and supplying point water systems in coordination with Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs). However, the CWSA employees assigned to the various districts or special teams from the regional offices should be responsible for supervising and monitoring the Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) Committees and Water and Sanitation Development Boards (WSDB) to ensure the efficient operation and upkeep of the other water facilities. The current CWSA reform is the best course of action to guarantee a sustainable rural water supply in Ghana. It has the potential to significantly aid Ghana in achieving Sustainable Development Goal Six (SDG 6).

Keywords

Community Onership Model , Sustainable Development Goal Six , Water Systems , Water and Sanitation Committee , Water and Sanitation Development Boards , Ghana

Ethical Statement

Statements and Declarations Funding: The authors received no funding. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Availability of data: All data used for this study are included within the manuscript.

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