Location and size

The District is situated in the central part of Brong Ahafo Region and covers an area of 330.5km2 representing approximately 0.83 percent of the surface area of the Region.  The District lies between longitudes 1°49´ West and 2°30´ West and latitude 8°00´ North and 7°35´ North. It shares political and administrative boundaries with the Techiman Municipality in the South, Wenchi Municipality in the North-west, Kintampo South District in the North and Nkoranza North District in the North-east.

Figures 1.1 & 1.2 depict the Map of the District and its location in the national and regional context, respectively.

Relief and Drainage

The topography of the District is generally low lying and gently undulating.  The main relief features are highlands and lowlands with part of the District around Buoyem reaching a height of 579m. The lowest point of about 305m is found around Krobo in the south-western part.

Major rivers that drain the District include; the Tano River to the south, Subin and Kar rivers to the North. The potential of these rivers and streams notably Tano and Subin as resource for small scale irrigation is yet to be fully harnessed.

Geology and Mineral

The District is underlain by the Voltanian and Belt Granite rock formations.  The voltanian formation covers about 90 percent of the total land area and is rich in sandstones, shales, mudstones and limestones, which can be harnessed for the ever expanding constructional sector in the District. The rock formation in and around Tanoboase and Buoyem has the potential of being fully explored to meet the ever increasing needs of the building and construction industry.

Clay deposit is found around Offuman. This clay deposit can be effectively harnessed through public-private partnership involving the traditional authority, the Assembly and the private sector. The clay deposits can be tapped for clay products industries to generate employment for the youth and for the provision of affordable housing.

Climate and Vegetation

The District experiences both semi-equatorial and tropical conventional or savanna climates, marked by moderate to heavy rainfall.  Major rains start from April to July and the minor from September to October with mean annual rainfall ranging between 1660mm and 1260mm. The only dry season, which is highly pronounced in the Savanna zone, starts in November and lasts until March. The average highest monthly temperature is about 300C (800F) and occurs mostly between March and April with the lowest of about 200C (790F) occurring in August.  Relative humidity is generally high throughout the year.

There are three main vegetation zones, namely, the guinea-savanna woodland, located in the northwest, the semi-deciduous zone in the south and the transitional zone which stretches from the south-east and west up to the north of the District.  The semi-deciduous forest type, like the other vegetation zones, has largely been disturbed by man’s activities depriving the District of its valuable tree species and other forest products. A large area has also been put under teak plantation.

The Asubingya forest reserve located at the south-western, covers an area of about 32.5km2 (9.8 percent) of District’s total land area. There are other Teak Plantations dotted in the District notable among them is the Tanoboase Teak Plantation. This important resource which serves as a protective cover to some of the major rivers is under threat from encroachers and need to be protected. The abundant teak plantation trees also serve as source of materials for the local timber industry as well as for export.

Soils and Agricultural Land Use

There is one major soil association in the Techiman North District namely;

(a) The Damango-Murugu-Tanoso Association;

- The Damango series are developed from voltaian sandstone under savanna vegetation and are red, deep (over 200cm), well drained and permeable. They are suitable for the cultivation of crops such as yam, cassava, maize, tobacco, vegetables, legumes, and cotton, among others. They can be found in the southern part around Tuobodom, Tanoboase, Offuman and Mesidan.

The Murugu series are similar to that of the Damango series and support crops such as maize, cassava, cotton and tobacco. They can be found in the Transitional Zone stretching to the north eastern part of the district.

The Tanoso series are located in low slopes and valley bottoms in the savanna zone at the northwest around Aworowa and Offuman where River Subin drains. They are deep, poorly drained and subject to seasonal water logging.

Environmental Situation of the District

Environmental Sanitation is an issue of grave concern to every human society. It is therefore important to have an improved environmental sanitation which is essential to improving and maintaining the health, productivity and welfare of the people in the District. Environmental sanitation is among the powerful drivers of human development as it affects quality of life through increased wealth and wellbeing of all citizens. Environmental sanitation is aimed at developing and maintaining a clean, safe and pleasant physical and natural environment in all human settlements, to promote the socio-cultural, economic and physical wellbeing of all sections of the population.

The volume of waste generated can determine the level of development by a particular society of community. As the country has attained lower middle income status, a healthier and wealthier population will tend to generate more of all waste types (domestic, commercial, institutional, industrial, and hazardous). It is therefore important to accelerate the provision of basic facilities based on a clear Environmental and Sanitation strategy with ambitious targets supported by sustainable financing.

The management of environmental sanitation in the District can be currently described as facing a “sanitation crisis’’. The District is characterized with a number of refuse heaps scattered all over the District and haphazard development. Physical structures are constructed without conforming to the existing building schemes and regulations. This is due to a long period of neglect of the sector and the lack of attitudinal change that did not accompany rapid economic development and population growth.

Increasing urbanization and non-adherence to planning schemes has resulted in unauthorized location of buildings along flood plains and reservations. Inadequate drainage facilities for sullage and storm water conveyance causes flooding in a number of localities during the rainy season. This is further worsened with the increasing area of built environment which reduces percolation into the soil. The lack of effective refuse collection from premises has also led to the use of drains as refuse disposal receptacles further compounding the problem with drains turned into open sewers with putrid smells.

These factors have serious health impacts (more than half of all reported diseases in the district, are related to poor environmental sanitation) with attendant social and economic costs. Flooding causes major damage to public infrastructure and private property. Pollution of water resources increases the technical difficulty and cost of providing water supplies. Additionally, the sight and smell of inadequately managed wastes constitute a major nuisance to citizens and visitors to the district. These trends are increasing with population growth, urbanization and changing lifestyles.

Food wrapping has changed over the period from bio-degradable leaves to paper, then to thin-foil plastics, and now to denser styro-foam and plastics. Similarly, drinking water vending has evolved from “ bucket-and-cup “ , to thin-film plastics, and now to more dense plastics of sachet and bottled “ mineral “ water. Emerging industrial waste and other hazardous waste, like E-waste (waste from discarded electronic appliances) pose new challenges.

In pursuance of addressing these challenges, the District Environmental and Sanitation Action Plan (DESSAP) have been developed to provide a comprehensive framework for managing environmental sanitation on a sustainable basis.

Conditions of the Built Environment

There are a total of 331,967 houses recorded during the 2010 PHC in the region, of which a total number of 8,391 are in the district. Techiman North District also has a total household population of 13,490. The housing environment within the District is generally characterised by poor drains, unkempt surroundings, exposed foundations and leaking roof. Most houses in the District are of very poor quality due to the low quality of building materials used.

Main construction material for outer wall

Table 8.4 presents main construction material for outer wall of dwelling unit by type of locality. The type of material used for constructing various parts of dwelling unit determines the durability and life span of the dwelling unit. The main material for outer wall of dwelling unit is cement block/concrete. More than half (56.8%) of dwelling units in the district have outer walls constructed with cement blocks or concrete while 35.3 percent of the dwelling units are constructed with mud bricks or earth.

The use of cement blocks/concrete also features most prominently in wall construction in the urban localities (59.1%) while rural localities mostly use mud brick/earth (31.1%) of wall materials.  As evidence in the Table 8.4 dwelling units with bamboo outer wall construction is uncommon in the district for which reason it recorded only 0.1percent apiece in the urban and rural localities.