Lowering of groundwater levels and their effect on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services in the Savelugu District, Northern Region of Ghana

Of all the natural resources available to humankind, water holds a prominent place, particularly because of its importance for human livelihood. Savelugu district in northern Ghana is characterized by unpredictable rainfall patterns with periodic and perennial water shortages. The distance people travel to fetch water and the person-hours spent in search for water affect productivity, economic livelihood, and health and education benefits. Provision of potable water supply to these communities is expected to bring not only health, education benefits but also increase in sanitation and hygiene practices. Static water levels (SWLs) of 19 wells in the study area were collected, analyzed and compared to the initial SWLs measured when the wells were immediately drilled and constructed. The SWL data was subjected to paired samples T-test (with α = 0.05). From the results, there was significant difference in the SWL immediately after drilling and construction (µ = 12.15, σ = 7.50) and SWL after at least 10 years (µ = 17.81, σ = 10.29); t (18) = -3.7, P = 0.002. Lowered groundwater levels were recorded in all wells measured. This can lead to drying up of some of the wells whose difference between the current SWL and well depth is close. There must be strong advocacy, development and implementation of IWRM plans to help address the problem of inadequate WASH in the study area.