Case
At last, Ghanaian village gets access to safely managed water
Residents of the rural community of Otoase, in the Ayensuano District of eastern Ghana, are now enjoying the convenience and health benefits of easy access to safely managed water, thanks to Grundfos SafeWater’s Ghana Water Initiative.
A long-standing water-access problem
Up until 2022 the approximately 4,000 people of Otoase, who rely mainly on agriculture for their livelihoods, had no access to treated drinking water. Their only water sources were ponds or dams fed by springs, which posed contamination risks, and a shallow, concrete-lined well that provided untreated water. This dire situation had a significant impact on the quality of life.
One newcomer to Otoase, the Reverend Edward Mensah, described the challenges villagers used to face: “To obtain water, we had to pay people, sometimes children, to travel long distances for water. Sadly, the water they brought back wasn’t even of good quality. This has made my time in the community quite challenging."
Modern water system puts a smile on everyone’s face
In 2022, the Ghana Water Initiative embarked on a mission to change this. By July that year the project was finished and the people of Otoase either had household connections to a safe water supply or could collect water at Grundfos AQTaps, the water-dispensing equivalent of an ATM. People in nearby communities also benefit, because they can bring containers to fill with clean water.
Otoase resident Samuel Ossinor, a former member of the armed forces who now has a household water connection, expressed his delight:
“With the availability of this water, my retirement from the military has been very pleasant. Before I returned home, my biggest concern was the water situation. Then I encountered this system. I quickly connected it to my home, and since then my wife and I have enjoyed an uninterrupted supply of treated water. Even our neighbors sometimes fetch water from us. There couldn't have been a better welcome-home surprise for my retirement.”
Safe water at the turn of a tap
The SafeWater initiative, which provides more than 35,000 liters of potable water daily, has transformed life in Otoase and neighbouring villages — residents no longer have to travel long distances or pay unreasonable prices for treated drinking water.