Water is an indispensable commodity in human life and contributes in the determination of the health status of the user population. The major sources of water used in the municipality are boreholes, hand-dug wells and rivers, streams and ponds. Hand-dug wells are the predominant source of water for the inhabitants.   

Human resource development

The supply of potable water is inadequate in the Municipality. None of the settlements  that has access to pipe borne water. The only potable water available is borehole which is not adequate to meet the demand of the population. The other forms of water are hand-dug wells, streams, rivers and ponds. The quality of water from these sources of water is rivers and ponds. This has a bearing on the incidence of water-related diseases (e.g. bilharzias) excreta or human waste disposal, garbage disposal, and liquid household waste and storm water disposal.

A survey done by the Assin Foso Municipal Water and Sanitation Team revealed that majority of the households (82%) do not use proper drainage facilities in disposing off waste water/liquid. Only about 18 percent use drains in liquid waste disposal.  Of the 18 percent, about 93.1 per cent live in the urban settlements especially Foso and Bereku. From the foregoing, it could be deduced that drainage facilities are inadequate and the available ones are in deplorable conditions.

The disposal of solid waste is another problem that is engulfing the  especially in Foso Township and Bereku. The survey conducted indicated that about 36 per cent use well-organized refuse dumps, 51 per cent use undeveloped refuse dumps, 11 per cent use open pit and only about 2 per cent burn their refuse. 73.2 per cent of the people travel between 10m-300m to dispose of refuse, thus the reason for dumping anyhow. However, many refuse dumps are not well organized and that run-offs pollute the various water bodies thereby posing water related diseases like bilharzias and cholera. The types of toilet facilities that are used in the municipality include the following:

Pit latrine

K.V.I.P
WC
Aqua Privy
VIP
Mozambique
Free Range

The use of WC is on the minimal since there is no pipe borne water systems in the entire Municipality. About 49 per cent of the population use Pit latrine, 44 per cent use K.V.I.P, Aqua Privy, Mozambique and WC Toilets. The remaining 7 per cent resort to open defecation, which poses serious health hazards to the inhabitants. The survey further revealed that only about 22 per cent of the entire Municipality population haw toilet facilities in their houses. The remaining 78 per cent use public places of convenience, which in most cases, are not properly maintained. This makes people resort to free range. The discussion on Human Resource Development has brought to the fore the following: The suffers from inadequate potable water supply especially during the dry season. The assembly is suffering from inadequate health personnel and health facilities.

The only hospital is always under pressure since it serves the entire Assembly in addition to the neighboring. Within the plan period, the few health facilities available should be well equipped with personnel and logistics to be able to deliver-instead of putting up new ones. The educational problem in the assembly is basically deteriorated school structures. More than 68 per cent of the educational structures in the Municipality are suffering from structural weaknesses and dilapidation. The result is that most structures are death traps for pupils and teachers and this affects school attendance and hinders effective teaching and learning.  The implication is that emphasis will be put on rehabilitation and construction of new buildings to replace the dilapidated structures.

The development of the human resource is not complete if the disabled and the vulnerable in the Municipality are neglected. The categorizes the vulnerable and excluded into three (3), via: the rural poor who operate at subsistence level of agricultural production, potential productive poor such as the youth who may have motivation and energy but lack opportunities and skills, rural women engaged in agriculture, and people living with disabilities/HIV AIDS. The groups of people identified above cannot meet the basic necessities of life either because they cannot afford them or the necessities are not available or both. The Assembly should target its poverty reduction programmes especially at the vulnerable and excluded.