Cost of delivering water services in rural areas and small towns in Ghana
Cost of delivering water services in rural areas and small towns in Ghana
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Date
2010
Authors
Dwumfour-Asare, Bismark
Nyarko, K. B
Appiah-Effah, E
Moriarty, P.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
IRC Symposium
Abstract
This study used the life-cycle costs approach (LCCA) to quantify the cost of delivering water
services in rural areas and small towns in Ghana. Data was collected on capital expenditure
(CapEx), which is initial capital investment cost of the water systems, operations and minor
maintenance expenditure (OpEx) and capital maintenance (major repairs and rehabilitation)
expenditure (CapManEx) on seventy six (76) boreholes fitted with handpumps and 17 small
town piped systems drawn from five out of the ten regions in Ghana. Data was also collected
on direct support costs connected with planning and installing the system (ExDS)
The magnitude and relative magnitude of the cost components are discussed for the
boreholes fitted with handpumps (water point source – or WPS) and small town piped
systems. The average annual cost (CapEx, OpEx, CapManEx, and ExDS) for delivering water
services from small town piped water systems ranges from US$ 10 to 14 per capita per year
while that for water point sources is about US$ 4 per capita per year. The study revealed that
CapEx per capita for the piped water systems is twice that of the boreholes with handpumps
when a design population of 300 is used. However, for piped schemes, the OpEx per capita
increases by a factor of ten (10) and CapManEx by a factor of 100 compared to a borehole
with a handpump. The cost of water per m3
delivered by the water point source ranges from
US$ 0.01 to 0.14 whilst that for the small towns water systems ranges from USD 0.05 to USD
1.51.
The study also revealed the lack of attention to operational and minor maintenance and
capital maintenance for both the borehole with handpump and the piped schemes resulting
in significant levels of non-functional systems. The study recommends that cost information
on OpEx and CapManEx should be used in planning and implementation to ensure that water
service delivery in rural areas and small towns in Ghana is sustainable.
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Citation
Nyarko, K. B., Dwumfour-Asare, B., Appiah-Effah, E., & Moriarty, P. (2010, November). Cost of delivering water services in rural areas and small towns in Ghana. In IRC Symposium 2010: Pumps, Pipes and Promises (pp. 16-18).