Main Source of Water for Drinking and Other Domestic Use
Main source of water for drinking

Water sources are often classified as ‘improved’ or ‘unimproved’: Sources considered as improved are piped water into homes, public standpipe, borehole, protected dug well, protected spring, and rainwater collection. On the other hand, unimproved water sources include unprotected wells and springs, vendors, and tanker-trucks (WHO & UNICEF, 2000). The source of water of dwelling unit for drinking and other domestic purposes in the district is presented in Table 8.10

The main source of drinking water for the urban communities in the district is protected well, accounting for 34.1 percent. On the other hand, the main source of drinking water for the rural communities is bore-hole/pump/tube well (28.3%). Rivers and streams contribute 10.5 percent and 22.2 percent of water needs in urban and rural households respectively.

It needs to be stressed that in both rural and urban areas of the district over 4 in 10 households have unprotected or unimproved water sources such as unprotected wells, unprotected springs, rivers/streams and dugouts/ponds/lakes/dams/canals, as their main sources of drinking water. The high number of households in both rural and urban areas of the Bodi District accessing these unimproved water sources has serious implications for the health of the population as well as efforts by government to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 

Main source of water for other domestic use

The main source of water for other domestic use is similar to drinking water with some minor difference in the percentages (Table 8.10). The use of unprotected well for other domestic purposes in the rural is 19.6 percent against 0 percent in the urban communities. Indeed similarly, to the use of unimproved water sources for drinking water, more than 4 out of 10 households in both rural and urban households in the Bodi District used unprotected water points for domestic use. 

Toilet and Bathing Facilities
Toilet facilities

An efficient and hygienic method of human waste disposal available in a dwelling unit is a critical indicator of the sanitary condition of the unit and is an indirect measure of the socio-economic status of a household. Table 8.11 and Figure 8.3 display information on type of toilet and bathing facilities used by household by type of locality.

In both rural and urban communities, the predominant toilet facility is pit latrines. Whereas 54 percent of households in urban areas utilised pit latrines, 61.6 percent do so in rural areas. About similar proportions of households in urban (1.4%) and rural (1.5%) areas used WC as the main toilet facilities. The proportion of urban households that had no toilet facilities (bush/beach/field) was slightly higher (9.6%) than those in rural areas (8.4%). Bucket/pan use in urban areas (0.2%) is just a little less than rural areas (0.2%).

Bathing facilities

The 2010 PHC collected information on bathing facilities of household. This is captured in Table 8.10. Just about half (48.7%) of households in urban areas had bathrooms exclusive to their households. In the rural areas, it is 41.5 percent of households that had bathrooms for exclusive use. Throughout the district, 42.2 percent of households in the district had their own bathrooms. Shared separate bathroom in the same house is also very popular in urban (28.2%) and rural (31.3%) areas. 

Method of Waste Disposal
Solid waste disposal

One of the most persistent challenges of both urban and rural areas in Ghana is the use of unhygienic solid waste disposal systems. Table 8.12 show the most widely used means of 58 disposing solid waste (refuse) in both urban and rural localities in the Bodi District. The proportions recorded for urban and rural households that dump refuse in public damps (open space and container) is 96.7 percent and 74.8% respectively. Indiscriminate dumping of refuse recorded in urban areas is 1.7 percent compared with 14.8 percent in urban areas. House-to-house collection of garbage, largely regarded as the best means of waste disposal is only available to a limited number of households: 1.3 percent and 6.9 percent in urban and rural areas respectively.

It needs to be stressed that the indiscriminate manner in which solid waste is dispose of in the Bodi District should be a matter of concern to policy-makers in the district. Similar to findings from other districts, solid waste is disposed of indiscriminately in the Bodi District largely due to the limited capacities of the Assembly in terms of the provision of appropriate infrastructure and management systems as well as enforcement of bye-laws on waste disposal and the environment and settlement planning. 

Liquid waste disposal

The predominate methods by which households dispose liquid waste in the Bodi District is by throwing their waste onto the street/outside and the compound of their dwellings (see Table 8.12). The proportion of households which throw their liquid waste onto the compound is 48.7 percent throughout the district. However, when considered on the basis of urban and rural localities, it is 19 percent and 51.7 percent respectively. Liquid waste disposal onto streets/outside is done in 38 percent of households in rural areas compared to a 56.4 percent in urban areas.