August 4, 2022 | Following the success of its innovative smart tech clean water pilot in Abomosu, Grundfos Ghana Water Initiative (GWI) announced that it is developing 12 additional sites in collaboration with the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) to give over 100,000 people across rural Ghana access to clean water by the end of 2023.
GWI, a project by Grundfos SafeWater, aims to reach one million people in underserved communities in Ghana with clean water by 2026, providing drinking water that is both safe and easily accessible, from a reliable source that is sustainable and efficiently run.
Successful pilot in Abomosu provides clean water for 8,000 local residents
In 2019, GWI installed seven centrally located, solar-powered, digital AQTaps (water ATMs) to serve the first pilot community in Abomosu village, located in Atiwa West District, Eastern region of Ghana. The pilot was set upin partnership with the CWSA and the Atiwa West District Assembly.The innovative, ‘smart water’ ATMs allow the user to manage their usage, and access treated, potable water using a pre-paid card, topped up via mobile money, from a source that is reliable and accessible 24/7, all year round.
Today, safe running water is available throughout the community, pumped from a 90m borehole 1.5 km from the village to a 120m³ water tank. Over 8,000 local residents now have reliable access to clean water for the first time, including 262 smart household water connections going directly into residents’ homes.
Giving over 100,000 people access to clean water
Anise Sacranie, SafeWater’s Senior Partnership Development Manager commented: “We have demonstrated that this model is successful, so working closely with the CWSA, the next step is to take the model to scale, encouraging private sector engagement and entrepreneurship to establish financially sustainable, high-quality water services to underserved communities across Ghana. We are about to finalise our next project (in Otoase) which is a completely new build and are on track to have a total of 13 projects running by the end of next year, including Abomosu, giving over 100,000 people access to clean drinking water within the next 18 months.”
Use of existing systems and new infrastructures
The Ghana Water Initiative’s approach to improve water access is to either refurbish existing systems provided by the Community Water and Sanitation Agency or establish new infrastructures. The Abomosu project involved upgrading an existing system that had fallen into disrepair, requiring two new boreholes, piping, and treatment system, as well as the Grundfos AQ Taps.
Xorlali Yao-Kuma Kpodo, Grundfos Ghana Water Initiative’s Engagement Manager said, “Over 8 million people in Ghana still do not have access to safe, drinkable water because the current water supply in many areas is inefficient and untreated and therefore unsafe to drink when it flows. Since the start of the Abomosu pilot initiative 2 years ago, the feedback from local residents has been overwhelmingly positive so we are excited to be moving to the next phase, providing clean water to more underserved rural areas.”
