In Ghana’s major cities such as Accra, Kumasi, Tema, and other fast growing urban areas, access to water is no longer something most residents assume will simply work. What should be a basic public service often requires planning, backup options, and a fair amount of patience. When taps stop flowing, households turn to water tankers, sachet water sellers, and private boreholes.
Over time, these alternatives have evolved into a parallel water economy. They keep daily life moving, but they also highlight deep structural gaps in Ghana’s urban water system. Understanding Ghana’s water crisis is essential for residents, newcomers, and anyone considering relocating or investing in property in the country.
How Ghana’s Urban Water Crisis Took Shape
Ghana’s piped water infrastructure was developed decades ago, when cities were smaller and demand was far easier to manage. The Ghana Water Company Limited remains responsible for urban water supply, but much of its network was not designed for today’s population levels.
Cities have expanded rapidly. Neighborhoods that were once peripheral are now densely populated. At the same time, aging pipes, frequent leaks, and treatment capacity limits have placed enormous strain on the system. Climate variability of the rainy seasons has only added to the pressure, with rainfall patterns becoming less predictable.
The result is uneven water supply. In some areas, taps flow a few days a week. In others, residents can go for weeks without piped water. Many people have learned not to celebrate too early when water starts running, because it may stop just as quickly.
To fill the gap, alternative suppliers stepped in. Not through central planning, but through necessity.
Water Tankers: The Moving Reservoirs of the City
Water tanker trucks are now a permanent feature of urban life. They appear early in the morning, late at night, and sometimes precisely when you thought you could postpone buying water one more day.
Painted with bright colors and hopeful slogans, tanker trucks supply households, apartment blocks, offices, schools, and hospitals when public taps fall silent.
How Tanker Supply Works
Tanker operators typically collect water from Ghana Water Company filling stations or private boreholes. They then deliver it directly to customers, charging by the load. Prices depend on distance, fuel costs, neighborhood demand, and how desperate the situation is at that moment.
During prolonged shortages, prices rise quickly. Few people enjoy paying for tanker water, but most enjoy having water even less.
The Controversy Around Tankers
Tanker drivers are often accused of inflating prices or contributing to shortages by buying water in bulk from public sources. In some neighborhoods, residents complain that tanker operators seem to arrive faster when there is scarcity than when there is abundance.
Regulation exists, but enforcement is uneven. Monitoring hundreds of mobile suppliers across a large city is no small task.
Why They Remain Essential
Despite criticism, tanker water keeps essential services running. Hospitals cannot wait for rationing schedules. Schools cannot close indefinitely. Large residential compounds depend on tankers to refill storage tanks and maintain basic hygiene.
The relationship between residents and tanker drivers is complicated. Frustration is common, but so is reliance. In many ways, tankers are both a symptom of the crisis and a reason daily life continues at all.
Sachet Water: Small Bags, Big Role
If tanker trucks handle bulk supply, sachet water handles survival at the personal level. Known locally as pure water, these small plastic sachets are everywhere. On street corners, in traffic, at bus stops, and sometimes handed to you before you even realize you are thirsty.
Why Sachet Water Dominates
Sachet water is popular for simple reasons. It is cheap, widely available, and easy to carry. Many households also trust sachet water more than tap water, especially when piped water arrives cloudy or with an unfamiliar taste.
For people on the move or living in homes without reliable storage, sachets are often the most practical option.
An Industry with Uneven Standards
Behind the street sellers is a vast production network. Some sachet water producers operate modern facilities with proper filtration and quality control. Others run small operations with minimal oversight.
The Food and Drugs Authority is responsible for regulation, but overseeing thousands of producers is challenging. Quality can vary, even when packaging looks identical.
The Plastic Problem
Sachet water solves an immediate need but creates an environmental headache. Millions of empty sachets are discarded every day. They clog drains, worsen flooding during heavy rains, and contribute to plastic pollution across Ghana.
It is one of those situations where convenience wins in the short term, while the clean up bill waits patiently in the background.
Boreholes: The Promise of Independence
As public supply becomes less reliable, boreholes have become increasingly common in urban Ghana. Once associated mainly with rural areas, they are now standard features in apartment complexes, gated communities, hotels, schools, and churches.
For many property developers, a borehole is no longer a bonus. It is an expectation. In fact, that’s one of Green Views amenities, apart from having a power generator, private security and fiber-optic connectivity.
Why Boreholes Are Attractive
Boreholes offer independence from rationing schedules and supply interruptions. For businesses, they provide operational stability. For households, they offer peace of mind and fewer frantic calls asking whether water is flowing today.
Over time, boreholes can also be cheaper than frequent tanker deliveries, especially for large properties.
The Long Term Risks
The growing number of private boreholes raises serious concerns. As more users leave the public grid, Ghana Water Company loses revenue needed to maintain and expand infrastructure.
Environmental experts also warn about over extraction. In parts of Accra, groundwater has started to turn salty, a clear sign that underground reserves are under stress. What feels like a private solution today may become a shared problem tomorrow.
Daily Life in a City That Plans for Water
For most urban residents, Ghana’s water crisis shapes daily routines in small but persistent ways.
Families debate whether to order tanker water now or wait another day. Some households buy sachets daily, slowly realizing at the end of the month that small purchases add up. Those with boreholes sometimes sell water to neighbors, turning access into a micro economy of its own.
Ironically, poorer households often pay more per liter. Without storage tanks, drilling funds, or bulk buying power, they are forced to purchase water in smaller, more expensive quantities. Water, in this context, becomes not just a necessity, but a marker of inequality.
Who Benefits and Who Struggles
The current system produces clear outcomes. Tanker operators benefit during shortages. Sachet water producers thrive on constant demand. Property owners with boreholes enjoy stability and control.
Low income households, informal settlement residents, and renters without infrastructure face the greatest uncertainty. They pay more, plan more, and worry more, all for a resource that is supposed to be basic.
The Government’s Balancing Act
Solving Ghana’s urban water crisis requires long term commitment rather than quick fixes. Investment in public infrastructure is essential. Pipes need replacing, treatment capacity must expand, and distribution networks must reach growing neighborhoods.
Alternative suppliers need clearer regulation. Tanker pricing, sachet water quality, and borehole drilling standards all require consistent oversight.
Environmental concerns cannot be ignored. Plastic waste management, groundwater monitoring, and climate resilience must be part of any serious strategy.
Above all, access to water should not depend entirely on income or housing type. Equity must be part of the solution, not an afterthought.
What This Means for Residents and Newcomers
For anyone living in or relocating to Ghana, water access is a practical consideration, not a theoretical one. Housing choices, monthly expenses, and daily routines are all shaped by how water is sourced and stored.
Many modern residential developments now include boreholes, storage tanks, and backup systems that reduce uncertainty and provide peace of mind. These features matter, especially for families and professionals who need reliability.
At the same time, understanding the broader water situation helps residents engage more thoughtfully with their communities and support sustainable practices where possible.
Looking Beyond Coping Mechanisms
Ghana’s urban water crisis is not just about scarcity. It is about growth, infrastructure, governance, and inequality. Tankers, sachets, and boreholes have emerged as coping mechanisms, not long term solutions.
As cities continue to expand, the challenge is clear. Moving from adaptation to resilience will require coordinated investment, regulation, and public awareness. Until then, urban life will continue with storage tanks on rooftops, sachets in hand, and an eye on the tap, just in case.
