Residents of the Chereponi District in the North-East Region are facing a severe, year-round water crisis that toggles between dangerous contamination in the wet months and total scarcity in the dry season.
The persistent crisis has left thousands of people without reliable access to safe drinking water, forcing households to depend on polluted sources for drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene.
The changing seasons offer no relief for the district. During the rainy season, while water is abundant, the available sources quickly become heavily polluted and unsafe. When the dry season arrives, local streams, dams, and reservoirs dry up completely.
The daily struggle has taken a heavy toll on the community’s quality of life. Inusah Keta, a resident of the Chombosu suburb, described the prolonged shortage as unbearable, noting that the crisis becomes so acute in the dry season that many men are unable to find enough water for regular bathing.
In Chereponi Township, residents face a grim dilemma. Local resident Dramani Kojo Yamun expressed deep frustration over the community’s lone, highly contaminated water source, citing the severe health risks associated with using it.
Yet, for some, the crisis has become an economic necessity. Seidu Kalbeni, who acknowledges the dangers of the polluted dam water, continues to fetch and supply the untreated water to desperate residents just to earn a living. “I have no alternative,” Kalbeni admitted.
Local authorities state that the issue is not a lack of effort, but a challenging geological reality.
Hon. Sheini Kofi Amadu, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Chereponi, explained that while the Assembly has attempted to implement relief measures, they have hit a literal brick wall. The primary obstacle is a severe lack of reliable underground water across the district, which makes drilling successful, high-yield boreholes nearly impossible.
”The greatest challenge is the absence of reliable underground water in many parts of the district, making it difficult to drill successful boreholes and provide sustainable access to potable water,” Amadu said.
With local groundwater drilling proving ineffective, the Chereponi District Assembly is calling for external intervention.
DCE Amadu has issued an urgent appeal to the central government and international development partners, requesting advanced technical assistance and funding to build a sustainable water infrastructure capable of rescuing the district from its lifelong crisis.