Ghana - Village Infrastructure Project : environmental assessment

E -/9 7 VULLAGE INRNFASTRUCTURE -PROJECT ..~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. .... -~~~~~~~ ~ . - ; > o ;>e .. .:2 . SBgm~~~~ ' \SS . xKENiIRONMM NTUI-ASSESSMENTK ::~~~~~~~~~~~~~OFME 199 kMI ' 'S8tSE '' ' :jvy,~ ~~ " '', , - ,:Wlte'1 :: ~~~~~~~NOVUABER 1996  ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ASIP Agricultural Sector Investment Project 5 CWSD Commnunity Water and Sanitation Division CWSP Community Water and Sanitation Project I EA Environmental Assessment EIA Environmental Impact Assessment ERP Economic Recovery Programme EPA Environmental Protection Agency GLSS Ghana Living Standards Survey IDA International Development Association IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development (Rome) 3 IMTs Intermediate Means of Transport KfW Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau 5 3 MOFA Ministry of Food and Agriculture NBSSI National Board for Small Scale Indu'stries 3 NRIP Northern Regional Infrastructure Project CNGOs Non-Governmental Organisations - -3 SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment VIP Village Infrastructure Project I 3 VTTs Village Tracks and Trails II I I  l VIP EA (EXECUTI VE SUMMAR Y I . EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Village Infrastructure Project (VIP), is an agricultural sector programme initiated by the M n Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) of the Republic of Ghana. The main objective of the VIP will be poverty reduction among the rural population who are mainly dependent on agricultural activities. 3 The Government of Ghana is seeking finance for the project from the International Development Association (IDA, World Bank), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and ! Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW). District Administrations and beneficiary communities are also expected to make some financial contribution. This Environmental Assessment has been made at the request of MOFA in order to meet World | Bank borrowing requirements and also to obtain the necessary approval of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Ghana. The appropriate requirements of both organisations are I highlighted in the report. This project has been classified as Category B by the World Bank for the purposes of environmental impact. The report begins by presenting the background to the project within the context of the various I efforts made by the GoG since the launching of the Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) in 1983, to ensure that the gains of economic reforms reflect in improved living standards for all. Out of a current estimated population of 18 million persons, nearly 68% (about 12 million) live I I - in the rural areas where basic infrastructure such as roads, water and electricity are scarce. The absence of these basic needs impacts adversely on all aspects of rural life including health, | education and income earning capacity. I Although there are current programmes like ASIP, CWSP and TRP initiated by Government and I | others by NGOs to address rural infrastructural requirements, the VIP is intended to be | implemented on small scale at village level to benefit the poorest of the poor. ii~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  VIP EA (EXECUTIVE SUMMARYJ The VIP, which is expected to be implemented from 1997 to 2001, would have four main components namely: () Rural Water Infrastructure (a) Rural Transport Infrastructure (I Rural Post-Harvest Infrastructure (1) Institutional Strengthening The unique feature of the VIP is that the delivery of these components, in any selected area, will be linked to ensure that the resulting synergy will multiply the intended benefits to achieve sustainable development. The main beneficiaries of the VIP will be women, children and other * I vulnerable groups. The expected benefits include: _ Q Increased smallholder productivity and fann incomes (:) Improved community welfare i (M) Increased rural employment i Better community health and nutritional status I() Strengthened rural institutions I1 1 The incidence of rural poverty occurs in all of the three main ecological zones of the country 3 l l ~~(savannah, forest and coastal zones) and in some ways, the level of poverty is influenced by the environmental characteristics, particularly in the way they impact on agriculture. The report -I g < therefore provides some baseline informnation describing the physical environment over the whole country and covering specifics, like water resources (both surface and groundwater), geology, soil types and climate. Data for these are presented in tabular form for easy reference. I | . Since the project is aimed primarily at reducing rural poverty, the report elaborates on the socio- economic aspects of rural life by providing extensive baseline information on factors such as 31 l ll population, income levels, education, housing, health and existing infrastructure including markets and roads. lIt ii IIn  I VIP EA (EXECUTI VE SUMMARY) The information for this section has been extracted from the results of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS 1991/92) published in 1993. Available data is also presented in tables for ready reference. This section also presents typical profiles of rural communities in the three ecological zones and discusses the current status of women and children in rural communities. The semi-arid savannah areas are the least populated and have some of the worst standards while the forest zone with its rich agricultural areas tend to be relatively better off. The coastal areas have benefited from proximity to the capital and major national road networks but yet still there are significant pockets of deprivation and poverty especially in isolated areas. The detailed sub-components of the VIP are presented in a summary description of the project. The interventions proposed under water infrastructure include surface impoundments like ponds and dugouts which will provide water for both the people and their livestock. A significant development with these open water sources is the proposed use of attached infiltration wells for human consumption and separate drinking troughs for the livestock. This should eliminate problems of contamination which are prevalent with such systems. Groundwater, which is a major source of potable water for the rural areas, will be provided mainly in the form of hand dug wells, as boreholes tend to be expensive. The dependence on rain-fed farming will be reduced by the development of small dams and streamfiow diversions, to provide for year-round irrigation and promote intensification of farming activities to increase productivity and incotnes. Rural transport infrastructure interventions will concentrate on rehabilitating existing feeder roads to targeted connnunities and linking these with tracks and trails to the farns. Furthermore, - appropriate Intermediate Means of Transport (IMTs) will be provided to enable the farmers to benefit from the improved roads by ensuring that they can transport their produce efficiently to the markets. II iii I^  n |I VIP EA (EXECUTIVE SUMMAR Y Even at the present low levels of production, post-harvest losses (estimated at 30%), are a major cause of low income earnings and its related problems of rural farming communities. The expected intensification of agriculture through the water interventions, could compound the post-harvest management problems. Another component of the VIP will therefore address this by providing improved storage facilities both on-farm and at village level. These would be complemented with appropriate crop processing equipment (grinding mills, digesters, extractors). Among the crops targeted for processing are food grains (maize, rice, sorghum, millet), oil seeds (sheanut, oil palm, 3 groundnut, coconut), roots and tubers (yams, cassava), and vegetables and fruits (tomatoes, plantains, bananas, pineapples). Fishing communities in the coastal areas would be provided with 3 improved technologies for drying and smoking of fish. | The small scale of the proposed interventions are such that, generally, any likely adverse environmental impacts are expected to be localised. Nevertheless, a proliferation of localised | impacts could well result in a significant cumulative effect within a district, region or even across the whole country. At this stage of the VIP, no specific sites have been selected for implementation of the various 1 components and sub-components as proposed. With this in mind, the assessment of environmental impacts, follows the lines of a Strategic Environmental Assessment. A close look is taken at each I | specific proposed intervention, highlighting the main potential adverse impacts that could arise from its implementation, particularly within the rural context. This should serve to alert designers, | I implementers and other stakeholders to avoid major problems that could hinder sustainable development. Significant problems identified from field studies and consultations, including issues like selection of sites for various projects, effective community involvement (from inception to take-over stage) and the timing of implementation, could threaten the success of any of the components. I I iv I  VIP E4 (EXECUTIVE SUMMARY) E3 On the whole, the water projects are those likely to pose major significant problems such as spread of disease (poor health affects all aspects of life including productivity), erosion, soil degradation and loss of farm lands due to flooding, etc. The main problem of roadworks is the issue of dust generation which is a residual problem for most feeder roads as they will remain untarred for many years to come. With the IMTs, the concerns raised were mainly those of their adaptability to the selected environments and the ability of the beneficiaries to afford the required financial contributions. Agro-processing raises issues of waste generation and waste disposal. The waste is typically organic in character and could be a major source of pollution of water bodies. Improper waste disposal also creates health hazards. Generally, waste disposal has become a problem nationwide with the growing population, and developing the rural areas should not compound it. The other aspect of agro-processing are the impacts identified with the use of diesel driven generators as prime movers for the equipment. Among these are noise generation, smoke generation and health and safety risks. Storage facilities raise concerns of pesticide usage and this impacts on the overall proliferation of chemical usage. With unskilled and untrained persons, this could be a major hazard. The environmental concerns raised require that aspects of project design and implementation should be environmentally sensitive. Guidelines are provided to facilitate the implementation of the various VIP components. These would ensure that good environmental practices are adopted to avoid and/or limit adverse consequences from the proposed interventions on the beneficiary communities. ii Recommendations are provided for addressing those issues such as community involvement, -j community ownership, site selection and timing of construction activities which are relevant to all components of the Project. Some of the recommendations for community involvement touch on education, conflict resolution and maintenance. v Ii  I II VIP E4 (EXECUTIVE SUMMARY) Il Site selection should avoid environmentally sensitive locations, cultural sites and allow adequate area for future expansion where relevant. Tirning of construction, particularly for labour-based projects should bear in mind the issue of seasonal migration out of some communities and cultural I .p practices that may affect labour supply. Under the water projects, guidelines are recornmended for water quality testing, control of disease vectors and providing security for water sources. Mitigation measures that address reduction of | water resource capacity through evaporation, seepage and sedimentation are also provided. Factors that could lead to land loss and soil degradation including erosion, waterlogging and | salinisation, and flooding are also addressed. | Guidelines are provided to address the impacts likely to arise under road rehabilitation and construction of tracks and trails. Erosion, flooding and ponding problems are expected to be addressed by good design and effective supervision during construction phase. Although dust generation is seen to be residual with feeder roads, frequent watering and adoption of good work - practices could reduce the effect during construction. Recommended management of borrow pits and quarries include filling, drainage and improving the landscape. Recommendations are proposed for the handling of liquid and solid waste that are generated from agro-processing. These include analysis and characterisation, effluent testing and effective disposal. The concerns of health and safety raised in connection with the use of diesel driven I | generator for agro-processing are addressed by recommending training and implementation of basic environmental, health and safety practices. I Measures for dealing with concerns of quality during storage include the use of air tight facilities like mud silos. Protection against rodents and pest could be enhanced through fumigation, raising | | of platforms, use of pesticides and incorporation of rodent guards where practicable. i~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~v II  I VIP E4 (EXECUTIVE SUMMARY) The report concludes by highlighting some of the benefits arising from the capacity building component as an effective support for the Project to achieve long term sustainability. The Pilot Integrated Catchment Management sub-component would train rural communities and related - agencies in efficient overall watershed management. The technical assistance and training envisaged under the transport and agro-processing components would ensure effective maintenance of facilities provided. I Finally, the expected socio-economic impacts on the rural communities are discussed for the various components of the VIP. Provision of rural water infrastructure will ensure the availability of clean water which would impact positively on health. Good health would improve productivity and income earning capacity, thereby contributing towards raising of rural living standards. | Women and children would be relieved from the drudgery associated with head porterage of water over long distances, allowing them to engage in other more fulfilling activities. Rehabilitating existing feeder roads and linking them with tracks and trails to the farms and | providing appropriate IMTs would improve the transport delivery system. This would result in benefits such as enhanced access to markets for sale of farm produce, increasing their incomes. I ! The improved roads would also facilitate movement of goods and services from urban to rural areas, contributing further to the overall objective of the VIP. Post-harvest management interventions including improved storage and processing will enhance ii the value of agricultural produce and reduce post-harvest losses. Certain items like shea butter i 1 and cassava chips that are being increasingly exported should ensure even better earnings for the farmers. Again, the increase earnings should lead to the overall improvement in the standard of living in the rural communities. ii 5 If the VIP is implemented with sound environmental practices appropriately guided, and proceeds as intended, by ensuring the various component are adequately linked together in the selected l | communities, then the expected benefits could be achieved and sustained. I I vii l1  I .......... TTABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 1.1 Background .1 1.2 World Bank Requirements for Environmental Assessment (EA). 3 1 1.3 Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Requirements. 3 1.4 Scope of Environmental Assessment. 4 2.0 GENERAL BASELINE INFORMATION ... 5 2.1 Water Resources . 5 2.1.1 SurfaceWater. 5 2.1.2 Groundwater. 7 2.2 Geology ..10 2.3 Soils .. 11 1 2.4 Climate ..13 2.5 Measurable Socio-Economic Indicators of Rural Communities ..14 3 2.5.1 Population ........................................... 14 2.5.2 Income Levels ..... 15 2.5.3 Education .......... 15 2.5.4 Housing ............................................. 17 3 2.5.5 Health ....................... 17 2.5.6 Employable Skills ....................... 19 2.5.7 Existing Infrastructure .19 2.5.8 Agro-Processing ..... .... 21 , | .2.6 Profiles of Rural Communities . ............. .....23 2.6.1 Profile of a Coastal Rural Community .23 6.2.2 Profile of A Forest Zone Commuity .26 2.6.3 Profile of A Savannah Rural Community .28 2.7 General Socio-Econornic Status of Women and Children . .31 viii l l  l 3.0 SUMMARY OF PROJECT DESCRIPTION ................... .......... 32 3.1 Rural Water Infrastructure . . . . .32 3.1.1 Ponds, Dugouts, and Other Surface Impoundments .32 I 3.1,2 Boreholes, Hand-dug Wells and Spring Development .32 1 3.1.3 Streamflow Diversions and Pumping .33 3.1.4 Run-off Management .33 3.1.5 Pilot Integrated Catchment Management .....................33 3.2 Rural Transport Infrastructure ..33 5 3.2.1 FeederRoadsRehabilitation .34 3.2.2 Village Tracks and Trials .34 i 3.2.3 Improvement in Intermediate Means of Transport (IMTs) .34 3.3 Rural Post-harvest Infrastructure ........... .................... 35 a 3.3.1 Village-Level Drying and Processing Facilities ................ 35 3.3.2 On-Farm and Village Storage .. . 36 3 3.3.3 Cottage Industries and other Targeted Income-Generating Activities ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~36 4.0 MAIN POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS ................... 37 1 S 4.1 Rural Water Infrastructure .37 4.1.1 Ponds, Dugouts, and Other Surface Impoundments .37 1 4.1.2 Boreholes, Hand-dug Wells and Spring Development .39 4.1.3 Streamflow Diversions, Pumping and Run-off Management . 40 i 1 4.1.4 Catchment Management Programme ................ ....... 42 - | . 4.2 Rural Transport Infrastructure ....... 42 | I 4.2.1 Feeder Roads Rehabilitation ............. 42 |5 ~4.2.2 Village Tracks and Trails (VTTs) ......... ................. 44 4.2.3 Improvement in Intermediate Means of Transport (IMTs) ..... ... 44 4.2.4 Some Benefits of the Labour-Based Scheme .45 ix  4.3 Rural Post-Harvest Infrastructure ............................... 46 34.3.1 Processing Equipment ................. .................. 46 4.3.2 Fish Processing ........................................ 49 4.3.3 On-Farm and Village Storage ........... ................. 49 4.4 Special Issues of Concern ..................... ................... 49 4.4.1 Community Involvement . ................................ 50 4.4.2 Community Ownership ........................... ...... 50 4.4.3 Siting ...................................... 50 4.4.4 Timing of Construction Activities ............. ............. 51 I 5.0 RELEVANT ENVIRONMENTAL GUIDELINES ... . ................... 52 1 5.1.1 Guidelines for Community Involvement .......... ............ 53 5.1.2 Guidelines for Community Ownership ........... ............ 54 * 5.1.3 Guidelines for Selecting Project Sites ........... ............ 54 5.1.4 Timing of Constructional Activities ............ ............. 56 | 5.2 Guidelines for Water Projects ................................... 57 5.3 Guidelines for Rural Transport Infrastructure ..60 I 5.3.1 Guidelines for Feeder Roads Rehabilitation and Construction of VTTs .............I......I..................... I........... 60 5.4 Guidelines for Rural Post-Harvest Processing .62 5:4.1 Guidelines for Agro-Processing .62 5.5 Guideiines for On-Farm and Village Level Storage .64 6.0 CONCLUSION ...... ......... 65 |I | 6.1 Capacity Building .65 6.2 Projected Socio-economic Impacts .65 I' 1.l I' I ~~~~~~~~~~~x lI  l l LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Surface Water Resources and Distribution by Basin .................................6 Table 2.2 Summary of the Hydrogeological Infrastructure on the Ghanaian Rocks ..........................................8 f - Table 2.3 Regional Borehole Distribution in Ghana (as of Oct. 1993) ......................9 Table 2.4 Rural Income Levels ......................................... 16 Table 2.5 Educational Background of Male and Female Household Population ......................................... 16 i Table 2.6 Indicators of Household Densities for Different Localities ....................... 18 Table 2.7 Major Health Problems Facing Households in Rural Communities by Ecological Zones .18 Table 2.8 Availability of Markets to Rural Communities by Ecological Zones. 20 Table 2.9 Percentage of Rural Households with Access to Motorable Roads and Public Transport by Ecological Zones .20 'i |Table 2.10 Sources of Potable Water in Dry Seasons for Rural Communities by Ecological Zones ....................... 22 Table 2.11 Distribution of Households Agro-Processing ............................... 22 I I xi 1  I* LIST OF FIGURES l E - Fig. 2.1 Main River Basins of Ghana 3 Fig. 2.2 Borehole Yield map of Ghana | Fig. 2.3 Soils of Ghana j I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~d 11 ,. I l I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ II~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~l U  l I VIP EA (INTRODUCTION) l 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Ghana's population is currently estimated to be 18 million of which 68% (nearly 12 million) live in the rural areas, where basic socio-economic infrastructure is not well developed. The Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) which was launched in April 1983 with World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IIIF) support, has been successful in bringing about some significant macroeconomic reforms thereby generating moderate growth in the economy. K However the gains from these economic reforms have not led to any significant improvement in rural living standards. The introduction of the Programme of Actions to Mitigate the Social Cost of Adjustment J (PAMSCAD), initiated projects aimed at poverty reduction particularly among rural dwellers. Recent studies (Participatory Poverty Assessment, PPA) indicate that nearly 54% of the poor are rural dwellers whose livelihood depends solely on crop farming and other farm-based activities. The recent launching of Vision 2020, which aims at making Ghana a middle income country by the year 2020, requires that greater emphasis should be placed on improving rural living conditions. Rural population dependency on agriculture implies that, any significant intervention to reduce rural.poverty must be aimed directly at improving performance in the agricultural 3 sector through provision of appropriate infrastructure. 30 There are various ongoing government interventions to assist rural communities, such as the Agricultural Sector Investment Project (ASIP), Community Water and Sanitation Project 3 (CWSP), Transport Rehabilitation Project (TRP), Northem Regional Pilot Infrastructure Scheme (NRPIS) among others. In addition several NGOs are implementing similar projects in support | | of government's initiative. 1* 11 1 ii  VIP EA (INTRODUCTION) The Village Infrastructure Project (VIP) is one of such interventions initiated by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA). The Project has the objective of supporting Ghana Government's effort at reducing poverty and improving the standards of living of the rural poor. It is proposed that the VIP will be implemented over five years spanning the period 1997 to 2001. The VIP which is primarily aimed at developing basic, sustainable village-level infrastructure, will have four main components, namely: vI (1) Rural Water Infrastructure (0) Rural Transport Infrastructure I Rural Post-Harvest Infrastructure 4) Institutional Strengthening The unique feature of the VIP is the way the components are expected to be linked in a 1 complementary manner so that the resulting'synergy will lead to sustained benefits for the targeted 1 rural comrnmunities. a The Project is expected to reduce rural poverty and increase agricultural output with specific benefits such as: 6 Increased small holder productivity and farm incomes 3 (X) Improved community welfare : Strengthened rural institutions I Better community health and nutritional status (5) Increased rural employment The main beneficiaries of this Project will be women, children and other vulnerable groups in targeted rural savannah, forest and coastal areas. tii 2 1l'  VIP EA (NTRODUCTION) 1.2 World Bank Requirements for Environmental Assessment (EA) n The World Bank views EA as part of project decision making process and as a means to ensure rl that development options under consideration are environmentally sound and sustainable. In this regard World Bank financed projects are subjected to environmental screening and classified into categories A-D to determine the level of EA required, if any. Category A covers most major projects which are likely to have significant environmental impacts and require extensive EA to be carried out. Category B projects require limited EA as the I projects are either on small scale or have specific environmental impacts. Category C projects do not require EA as they are unlikely to have significant environmental impacts. Category D projects are environmental projects which do not require separate EAs as the environment itself is a major focus of the project. The World Bank requirements for Environmental Assessment are published in Operational Directives (OD) 4.00, and its Annexes. The VIP has been classified as Category B since the level of micro-scale, village-level activities I envisaged are insufficient and localised to warrant extensive EA of a Category A project. 3 1.3 Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Requirements The fundamental principle underlying Ghana's formal Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Procedures is the preventive approach to environmental management in which EIA is applied as a tool, especially at the project-specific level. 3 l The EIA requirements published in the Ghana EIA Procedures are supported by law, the EPA :1 Kl |Act, 1994 (Act 490). This Act mandates the Ghana EPA "to ensure compliance with laid down 3 3 jl  r VIP EA (INTRODUCTION) ETA procedures in the planning and execution of development projects, including compliance in respect of existing projects", Section 2 (I) of the Act. The basic objectives of the EIA system are rD to integrate environmental management and economic decisions at the earliest stages of planning an undertaking, programme or investment and ( to provide avenues for the involvement of the public, proponents, private and 3 government agencies in the assessment and review of proposed undertakings, among others. The procedures provide for the registration of proposed developments with the EPA and subsequent screening to determine the level of environmental assessment required for the necessary project environment authorisation or otherwise. The VIP, at this stage, has not identified specific sites for implementation of its various components and therefore cannot be strictly assessed under the existing Ghana EIA procedures. A more general approach incorporating an overall assessment of the programme is therefore indicated. 1.4 Scope of Environmental Assessment In the light of the foregoing requirements, this study is in the form of a Strategic Environrnental I | Assessment (SEA) based on the scope and format agreed to by the Proponent (MOFA), World Bank and Ghana EPA. As proposed, this SEA establishes relevant general baseline conditions, identifies potential environmental concerns and provides appropriate environmental guidelines for I the implementation stage of the Project. Since the project is primarily aimed at reducing rural poverty and improving standards of living of the rural poor, the study elaborates on the socio- economic aspects of rural communities. Relevant baseline information on key measurable socio- I l economic indicators are presented in sufficient detail as a guide to site selection and also to facilitate eventual monitoring, evaluation and auditing as the VIP implementation advances. 4  r Jr VIWP EA (BASELINE) 2.0 GENERAL BASELINE INFORMATION 2.1 Water Resources XW7ater is fundamental to life and essential for nearly every human endeavour. Water resources have to be developed to provide for human consumption, agriculture (crop production, livestock, fisheries) and industrial applications (power generation, processing). I In general, water supply development in Ghana is influenced by an abundance of surface water and low occurrence of ground water. Surface water is being used to supply potable water to population centres (above 10,000 people), provide hydro-power and for irrigation among others. 3 Ground water is used mainly to provide potable water in low population areas and areas where surface water is inadequate. 2a1.1 Surface Water The main river basins in Ghana which constitute the available surface water sources are the White Volta, Black Volta, Oti, Lower Volta, Pra, Ankobra, Tano, Bia, Coastal Drainage (mainly Ayensu 3 and Densu) and Tordzie/Aka Basins (Fig 2.1). The distribution of these basins are summarised in Table 2.1 overleaf. Rain water harvesting also serves as a source of surface water available to many rural | 3 conimunities. The mean annual rainfall varies from 2,250 mm in the west coastal area, to about 750 mm in the eastern coastal area (around the capital, Accra), and 100 mm in the North. This | 5 indicates that the South Western part of the country is well watered unlike the semi-arid savannas to the North and the Central and Eastern coastal plains. The variability and uneven distribution | of rainfall results in water deficit in some parts of the country during the year. Investigations reveal that though surface water quality is generally good, local pollution however exits particularly in the mining localities and areas of intensive agricultural activities. I1 5 li  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~- - - --- -- - Table 2.1 Surface Water Resources and Distiribution by Basin_ Basin/Station Drainage Area Km2 Regional Coverage Runoff x 106jn3/day Remarks Mean Annual Monthly Max Monthly Min White Volta 45800 Upper East 10.28 104.98 0.09 Upper West Northemr Black Volta 35100 Upper West 4.92 53.83 0.17 Northem Brong Ahafo Oti 16200 Upper West 9.59 73.44 0.17 Northem and Volta Lower Volta 68600 Northem 12.10 249.70 0.17 Runoff values are for Brong Ahafo flows from with basins Ashanti in Ghana alnd exclude Eastern flows entering from up Volta streams Pra 23200 Ashanti 20.74 94.18 1.38 Eastern Central Westem Ankobra 8500 Westem 10.45 40.61 1.30 Tano 14900 Brong Ahafo 6.39 45.27 0.17 Westemn Bia 6500 Western 3.63 40.95 0.17 Coastal Drainage 15600 Central 5.36 61.17 0.43 Greater Accra Todzie / Aka 3600 Volta 1.38 155.52 0.09 6  l | VIP EA (BASEUNE) I 2.1.2 Groundwater Aquifers underlie almost all areas in the country. Occurrence of ground water however, is controlled principally by the local geology and other factors such as topography and climate. In northern Ghana aquifers have been located at between 10 m and 60 m depth with an average of 27 m. In southern Ghana, due to thicker soil cover, boreholes are deeper, ranging between 25 m and 80 m depth with an average of 42 m (Bannerman, 1986). Borehole yields vary between 10 I/min to 600 I/min with over 60% ranging between 10 1 /min to 50 l/min. The average depth, location of aquifers, yields, transmissivities and hydraulic conductivities in the various geological formations are given in Table 2.2. Attached as Figure 2 i! I is a borehole yield map of the country. I,1 | The number and distribution of boreholes in Ghana as at 1993 is also shown in Table 2.3. In terms of quality, investigations indicate that ground water supplies are generally suitable for 5 most domestic and industrial purposes. However there are some areas with occurrence of high concentrations of manganese, iron, salinity and total hardness. I. IX  ~- L--~ ; - ,S - - - - - - - - inn - - - - Table 2.2 Sunmmary of Hydrogeological information on the Ghanaian Rocks (hi Thousand acre-feet per year) GEOLOGICAL AGE WELL DEPTH (m) AQUIFER YIELD T K FORMATION HORIZONS (m) m3lh M2/d M/d Tertiary - Recent Tertiary-Recent 20-40 3-25 1.0-12-0 Amisian and Upper Jurassic 5-30 Appolonian Upper Cretaceous 25-300 250-300 1.5-27 870 72 Accraina and Devonian - Sekondian Voltaina Paleozoic 20-80 20-35 1.0-12.0 160 4.5 Buem Upper Precambrian 20-80 20-35 1]0-12.0 50 4.5 Togo Upper Precambrian 20-60 20-65 1.5-8.0 4 0.37 Tarkwaian Middle 25-60 15-35 1.0-12.0 331 0.27 Precambrian Granites Middle - 20-65 1.0-32.0 7-120 0.12 Precambrian Birrimaian Middle 60-80 25-35 1.5-17.5 29 0.05 Precambrian Dahomeyan lower Precambrian 60-100 25-50 1.5-32.0 0.14-62.5 0.61 65-75  iI |VIP EA (BASELINE) l Table 2.3 Regional Borehole Distnbution in Ghana (as of October 1993) ;WEN