Water Delivery Systems

GCMA hardly gets potable pipe borne water, and most of the residents resort to poly tanks, and concrete built tanks to store water. The residents also harvest rainwater during the rainy seasons. Potable water in Ga Central Municipality becomes an essential commodity during the dry season, which makes those supplying water in lorry tankers charge exorbitant prices. The quality of the water supplied by these tankers is not guaranteed. This situation has health implications.

To improve on the flow of water to the Municipality, a new treatment plant of a capacity of 40,000m3 per day is to be installed at Weija to serve the eastern part of Accra which includes GCMA. This would be done through a grant offered by the Netherlands government.

Another solution to the water situation in the Municipality is the WASH programme, a partnership between the Government of Ghana and the Netherlands, through development cooperation are embarking on an ambitious development programme on water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).

Waste Management (Access to Sanitation)

Solid waste collection in the entire GCMA Municipal area is undertaken by private service providers. However, it is only the waste of households who are registered with these service providers that is collected. The solid waste of those who are not registered is clandestinely dumped into bushes and drains to the detriment of the law abiding ones.

The Assembly depends on final refuse dump at Adjen Kotoku, Pantan, Kpone (Tema), etc. It suffices to state that there is the need for the Ga Central Municipal Assembly to initiate steps to identify and acquire land for the development of an integrated final disposal site for both solid and liquid waste. The land should be large enough to contain an incineration and composting plants, storage facility for recovered waste for recycling and final disposal for hazardous waste.

Solid Waste generation and Composition

In the Ga Central Municipality there are no large to medium size industries, the major sources of solid waste is from municipal sources. Table 3.1 below gives an indication of solid waste generation in the municipality.

Solid waste composition

For the determination of waste composition the Assembly took a sample, which was sorted into various waste fractions and weigh, it must however be noted that the sample size was very small, additionally the sample was restricted to domestic waste

Collection, Storage and Transportation

The GCMA Municipality has engaged the services of five solid waste collection contractors on Franchise. These service providers use various types of equipment for the collection and transportation of solid waste as indicated in the Table below

Solid Waste Contractors

The following private companies City Top, Honest Waste, Rural Waste, Gako and Asadu Royal Seed provide the waste management services in the municipality.

Treatment and Disposal

Solid waste collected from the GCMA Municipality is disposed of at dump near the Pantang Hospital in the Ga East Municipality.  This area is not only suitable but is also poorly managed.

 Liquid Waste

The term liquid waste management refers to the collection; safe handling, treatment and disposal of all categories of none solid and non-gaseous waste and include human excreta (night soil and sewage), sewage, industrial effluents, and dry run-off.

Excreta Management

The GCMA Municipality is not endowed with a central sewerage system and residents depend on a variety of technologies for the storage, collection and treatment and disposal liquid waste.Primary field data indicate that the municipality has a total housing stock and toilet facilities as indicated in the Table below

Public Toilets

The dependence on public toilets facilities as means of excreta disposal is currently very low, nevertheless there are a few of them in the Municipality as shown below.

Water Closet -

KVIP - 13 toilets with a total 76 squatting holes

VIP - 2 toilets with a total of 8 squatting holes

There are plans in the 2013 budget to construct two more public toilet facilities at the Anyaa andChantan markets and Lorry Parks respectively. This is expected to provide urinary and toilet facilities for the transient population.

Sewage Disposal

Most communities in the municipality are still developing and drainage can generally be described as poor, nevertheless sewage disposal does not appear to pose serious problems at the moment but it is only a matter of time and the problem of sewage disposal and dry run-of will manifest.