Harvested rainwater: quality, adequacy, and proximity in Ghanaian rural communities

This article presents a study that aimed to assess the accessibility, use, and quality of harvested rainwater in three rural communities in Ghana where the government of Ghana and local and international development organisations have sponsored domestic rainwater harvesting. The results showed that rainwater storage facilities were within the recommended distance of 1000m from each house. The amount of rainwater per person per day was below the recommended amount. The majority of the respondents therefore depended on other sources of water. Though the physico-chemical quality of rainwater met the WHO guideline limit for drinking water, the bacteriological quality did not. The majority of common water-associated infections experienced prior to the project have not been experienced after the project.