ACCRA: Sanitation Status
Sanitation provision in Accra (the capital of Ghana) is grossly deficient, as in most cities in sub-Saharan Africa: most people do not have access to a hygienic toilet; large amounts of faecal waste are discharged to the environment without adequate treatment; this is likely to have major impacts on infectious disease burden and quality of life (Hutton et al. 2007). This article briefly summarizes the current sanitation situation in Accra.
This page is part of the fully editable open-access reference source on the sanitation status of all major cities in sub-Saharan Africa. The resource considers the 40 urban agglomerations in sub-Saharan Africa with a current population of 1 million or more. To read some of the other 40 country profiles, go back tothe resource Homepage.
N.B These pages should be considered as incomplete provisional drafts, and contributions are actively requested from specialists with expert local knowledge of each specific city.
Table of Contents
- Background information
- Water resources and supply: overview
- Sanitation access
- Sewerage system
- Septage management (septage = nightsoil and/or sludge from onsite facilities)
- Sewage treatment (sewage = sewered wastes and/or septage)
- Sanitation in low-income districts
- Responsibility
- Sanitation masterplan?
- Sanitation financing
- Major investments and donor interventions
- Sources and further reading
- References
- Other City Profiles
Background information
Accra is an urban agglomeration with a population of about 3.5 million people (Brinkhoff 2010). The agglomeration (often referred to as the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area) basically corresponds to the areas covered by the Accra Metropolitan assembly, the Ga East District Assembly, the Ga West District Assembly and the Tema Municipal Assembly. It is a coastal city with average altitude of 20 m above sea level and mostly flat or with gentle slopes; it is drained by Odaw River via the Korle Lagoon. Climate is tropical wet and dry (Köppen classification Aw), mean annual precipitation 725 mm. Flooding of low-income settlements in some districts is frequent and severe; see SWITCH Accra (2009) and Nyarko (2002) for detailed information. Major polluting industries include textiles, food processing and metal and chemical industries (Boadi & Kuitunen 2002). There is significant agricultural activity in peri-urban areas of the agglomeration (see Boadi 2002); though note Klinkenberg et al. (2007), who suggest that urban agriculture may favour malaria transmission. About 60% of the population is estimated to live in low-income settlements (Abraham et al. 2007).
Water resources and supply: overview
Greater Accra is supplied by 3 main surface-water systems, the Kpong system on the Volta river, the Weija system on the Densu river and the Anun Boso system (Switch ACCRA 2009). The majority of the population uses water from the formal water supply system, whether piped directly or purchased from vendors. About 49% of the population of Greater Accra are reported to have within-plot piped water (10% indoor plumbing, 39% yard connection), while about 22% use water from neighbours, 16% buy from water vendors, and 13% use a community standpipe, generally privately owned (survey data from the year 2000, Nyarko et al. 2008); evidently, in-plot piped water supply is much less frequent in low-income communities. Only about 6% of the population is thought to use groundwater sources (SWITCH Accra 2009). Detailed information (sources, water use, supply regularity, costs to consumer) is given by Nyarko et al. 2008 and SWITCH Accra (2009).
Sanitation access
Public toilets are much more widely used in Ghana than in most other African countries; in low-income districts these typically have very poor hygiene and long queues during peak periods (Boadi 2004). A survey of 960 Accra households by Boadi (2004) found that about 37.5% do not have a toilet in their home; of these about 35% relied on public toilets and about 2.5% resorted to open defecation; when income is taken into account, about 45% of poor households use public latrines, versus only about 2% of middle-income and wealthy households. Open defecation is often practised because of long queues during the early morning peak period (Boadi 2004). Toilet sharing is also common in low-income settlements (Boadi 2004). Figures reported by SWITCH Accra (2009), based on official survey data from the year 2000, are somewhat different but likewise indicate the importance of public and shared toilets: flush toilet 23% of population, improved pit latrine 11%, unimproved pit latrine 11%, neighbour’s toilet 9%, public toilet 28%, bucket latrine 10%, open defecation 10%. The category “flush toilet” may include toilets discharging to sewers, to septic tanks, or more or less directly to open drains. As from January 2010, bucket latrines (”pan latrines”) are officially illegal.
Sewerage system
The centre of Accra has a significant sewerage system, but this is currently non-functional. This was a World Bank-funded system completed in 1973, covering 1000 ha and including 28.5 km of sewers. In 1997, World Bank expert Albert Wright described this system as “a classic example of unaffordable services [for] prospective beneficiaries”, and states that the system never worked well “because of narrow and crooked streets and below-standard housing and plumbing”. Only 6.5% of the target of 2000 household connections was achieved. A UASB wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was built to serve this network at James Town (Achimota) in 2000; on handover to the AMA the following year, it soon became dysfunctional, for reasons including low inflow and poor management; see Awuah & Abrokwa (2008) and Norman (2009). This plant is currently reported to be practically non-operational. Accra proper also has diverse other small sewerage systems, nearly all dysfunctional: notably systems in the Dansoman area and in the Legon area (university campus). There is also a sewerage system in Tema, constructed in the 1960s, and discharging to a lagoons-based wastewater treatment plant and then the sea; however, this system is likewise in a very poor state of repair, and the treatment plant is at present basically non-operational, with wastewater discharged directly to the sea (Awuah et al. 2008b).
Septage management (septage = nightsoil and/or sludge from onsite facilities)
Waste (whether fresh nightsoil or partially digested sludge) from bucket latrines, from private latrines and septic tanks, and from public latrines is emptied by manual emptiers and by tanker operators (Boot & Scott 2008). In some areas manual emptiers transport the waste to local septage holding tanks; most of these are well-designed structures (see photo in Boot & Scott 2008) constructed in 1990s, and currently managed by the Waste Management Division of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly. Most of the faecal waste (collected directly or via holding tanks) is currently dumped directly to the sea −indeed to the beach− at Korle Gono, close the centre of the city; this dumping site (known locally as “Lavender Hill”) currently receives about 100 tanker-loads (about 700 m3) every day. Some sludge is also dumped to the lagoon-based plant in Tema. Detailed information on faecal sludge management in Accra is given by Boot & Scoot (2008); see also SWITCH Accra (2009).
Sewage treatment (sewage = sewered wastes and/or septage)
As noted, the James Town wastewater treatment plant (design capacity 16,000 m3/day) is a UASB plant currently reported to be practically non-operational. A detailed description and performance evaluation (year unknown) of this plant is given by Awuah & Abrokwa (2008). There is also a lagoons-based plant in Tema, likewise reported to be practically non-operational (Awuah et al. 2008). The two reports by Awuah and co-workers provide interesting comments on institutional and management-related reasons for the failure of the two wastewater treatment plants. As noted below, the AfDB-funded Accra Sewerage Improvement Project plans to construct a lagoon-based WWTP at Densu Delta, with 6000 m3/day capacity and long sea outfall, and another lagoon-based WWTP at Legon, again with 6000 m3/day capacity and discharge to the River Onyasia; as at November 2009, however, this project was held up because of procurement and management problems. Institutional correspondents in Accra have also recently suggested that funding from the World Bank may be available for rehabilitation of the James Town plant (Norman 2009b); however, this has not been confirmed.
Sanitation in low-income districts
Extremely poor sanitation conditions are seen in the squatter settlement of Old Fadama/Agbobloshie (population about 40,000) close to the city; this settlement has very high population densities and very poor quality housing (mostly very small wooden shacks), and the population largely depends on low-quality public latrines. Other major informal settlements include those in the Ashaiman area. There are large high-density low-income formal settlements close to the city centre (e.g. Jamestown, Sabon Zongo, Chorkor, Nima, Labadi) and in suburban areas including Ashaiman, again with very poor sanitation. The sociodemographic and habitat characteristics of these areas vary; see Grant (2009) and SWITCH Accra (2009).
Responsibility
Within Accra proper, various aspects of sanitation (sewerage, sewage treatment and faecal sludge collection) are the responsibility of the Waste Management Division of Accra Metropolitan Assembly, which is also responsible for municipal solid waste management and stormwater drainage. Within the WMD, responsibility for the sewerage system lies with the newly formed Accra Metro Sewerage Unit. There is similarly a Waste Management Division within the Tema Municipal Assembly. There is currently no umbrella body with overall strategic responsibility for sanitation in the Greater Accra; nor is there clear integration of responsibility for sewerage and onsite sanitation. Environmental and public health monitoring in Accra proper is the responsibility of the Environmental and Public Health Department (EPHD), a department of the same rank within the AMA. Further details of institutional structure are given in AfDB (2008).
Sanitation masterplan?
No: the 1999 Environmental Sanitation Policy sets sanitation targets for 2020 (at least 90% of the population to have access to an acceptable domestic toilet and the remaining 10% to have access to hygienic public toilets; hygienic public toilets to be provided for the transient population in all areas of intense public activity; all pan latrines to be phased out by 2010), but cannot be considered a detailed strategic plan. Similarly, there is no general strategic planning document for Greater Accra.
Sanitation financing
No specific information at present.
Major investments and donor interventions
Accra Sewerage Improvement Project (ASIP), African Development Bank (AfDB), approved by the AfDB in 26 Apr 2006, ongoing, total budget about $69m. As at appraisal, this project comprised 4 components: 1) construction of a lagoon-based WWTP at Densu Delta, with 6000 m3/day capacity and long sea outfall; 2) construction of another lagoon-based WWTP at Legon, again with 6000 m3/day capacity and discharge to the River Onyasia; 3) rehabilitation and extension of the existing sewer networks in central Accra (discharging to the Achimota WWTP), the west Accra area (discharging to the future Densu Delta WWTP), and the north-east Accra area (discharging to the future Legon WWTP); 4) construction of 146 public toilet blocks and 36 septage holding tanks (AfDB 2008). As at November 2009, however, this project had not commenced because of problems with procurement and management (Norman 2009b).
On a smaller scale, interesting community-based work in low-income settlements is being done by CHF International (http://www.chfinternational.org/Ghana).
Another small-scale project is Project 48 of the African Water Facility “Ghana (TREND)-Improved Sanitation and Water Supply Services”, about 2m US$, which will pilot small-scale water and sanitation interventions in three urban locations in Ghana, including an area of Ashaiman in Greater Accra.
Sources and further reading
SWITCH Accra (http://www.switchurbanwater.eu/cities/1.php) has collated and generated detailed documentation on water supply and sanitation in Accra. Much of this documentation has been compiled on on a data DVD entitled “Accra Starter Kit”. The SWITCH project, a major EU-funded programme to research and develop strategic urban water management plans for major cities throughout the world.
References
Abraham EM, van Rooijen D, Cofie O & Raschid-Sally L (2007) Planning urban water-dependent livelihood opportunities for the poor in Accra, Ghana. Paper presented at the SWITCH Scientific Meeting, Unversity of Birmingham, UK, 9-10 Jan 2007.
AfDB (2008) Project Appraisal: Accra Sewerage Improvement Project. http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-and-Operations/GH-2006-010-EN-ADF-BD-WP-GHANA-AR-ASIP.PDF
Awuah E & Abrokwa KA (2008) Performance evaluation of the UASB sewage treatment plant at James Town (Mudor), Accra. Paper presented at the 33rd WEDC International Conference, Accra, Ghana, 2008. http://wedc.lboro.ac.uk/resources/conference/33/Awuah_E_2.pdf
Awuah E, Donkor E & Sanjok EKM (2008) Management of Sewerage System: Case Study in Tema. Paper presented at the 33rd WEDC International Conference, Accra, Ghana, 2008. http://wedc.lboro.ac.uk/resources/conference/33/Awuah_E_1.pdf
Boadi KO & Kuitunen M (2002) Urban waste pollution in the Korle Lagoon, Accra, Ghana. The Environmentalist 22(4):301-309. http://www.springerlink.com/content/qp1x527685147401/
Boadi (2004) Environment and Health in the Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana. Jyväskylä Studies in Biological and Environmental Science 145. https://jyx.jyu.fi/dspace/bitstream/handle/123456789/13155/9513919935.pdf;jsessionid=49BEC976483F70959563698E7686DBFE?sequence=1
Boot NLD & Scott RE (2008) Faecal sludge management in Accra, Ghana: strengthening links in the chain. http://wedc.lboro.ac.uk/resources/conference/33/Boot_NLD.pdf
Brakohiapa E, Martin N & Muff R (2005) Sanitation Infrastructure and Pollution Map of Greater Accra Metropolitan Area. GHANA - GERMANY Environmental and Engineering Geology Project. http://www.bgr.de/tz/ghana/sanitation_18_05_05.pdf
Brinkhoff T (2010) City Population. http://www.citypopulation.de
UNEP/GRID-Arendal (2002) Water availability in Africa. UNEP/GRID-Arendal Maps and Graphics Library. http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/water_availability_in_africa.
Grant R (2009) Globalizing City: The Urban and Economic Transformation of Accra, Ghana. Syracuse University Press, 2009. http://books.google.com/books?id=2SNY_VIXSTsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Hutton G, Haller L & Bartram J (2007) Economic and health effects of increasing coverage of low cost household drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to countries off-track to meet MDG target 10. Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organization. http://www.irc.nl/page/38443
Klinkenberg E et al. (2007) Impact of urban agriculture on malaria vectors in Accra, Ghana. Malaria Journal 7:151. doi:10.1186/1475-2875-7-151. http://www.malariajournal.com/content/7/1/151
Nyarko BK, Odai SN, Owusu PA & Quartey EK (2008) Water supply coping studies in Accra. Paper presented at the 33rd WEDC International Conference, Accra, Ghana, 2008. http://wedc.lboro.ac.uk/resources/conference/33/Nyarko_K2_GHA.pdf
SWITCH Accra (2009) Analysis of Water Resources, Infrastructure, Demand and Access to Urban Water Services in Accra. Not currently published: contact SWITCH Accra http://switchurbanwater.lboro.ac.uk/cities/1.php
Norman G (2009a) Can sewerage be pro-poor? Lessons from Dakar. Paper presented at the West Africa Regional Sanitation and Hygiene Symposium, 3-5 Nov 2009, Accra, Ghana. http://www.irc.nl/page/50808
Norman (2009b) Can the Accra Sewerage Improvement Project be made pro-poor? Unpublished report, available from the author (g.j.norman@surrey.ac.uk) on request.
Nyarko BK (2002) Application of a rational model in GIS for flood risk assessment in Accra, Ghana, J. of Spatial Hydrology 2 (1). http://www.spatialhydrology.com/journal/paper/Floodzone/floodrisk.pdf
Obuobie E, Danso G & Drechsel P (2003) Access to land and water for urban vegetable farming in Accra. Urban Agriculture Magazine, December 2003: 15-23. http://www.zef.de/module/register/media/5c3a_UAM%2011-Land.pdf
Obuobie E et al. (2006) Irrigated urban vegetable production in Ghana: Characteristics, benefits and risks.
IWMI-RUAF-CPWF, Accra, Ghana: International Water Management Institute. http://www.cityfarmer.org/GhanaIrrigateVegis.html
Sanitation Updates (2010) “Use of pan latrines outlawed in Accra”, 6 January 2010. http://sanitationupdates.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/ghana-use-of-pan-latrines-outlawed-in-accra/
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