National Water Policy.

This Policy concerns integrated water resources management in Ghana. It is the result of a sector-wide stakeholder consultations and collaboration involving water practitioners, policy formulators, decision makers, Ministries, Municipal, and District Assemblies and allied Agencies, Development Partners, and Civil Society. It is set within the commitment to international obligations and protocols and underpinned by the principles enunciated in the Ghana Poverty reduction Strategy (GPRS), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the "Africa water Vision" of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). Principles of water management are set out in detail. The overall goal of the National Water Policy is to "achieve sustainable development, management and use of Ghana's water resources to improve health and livelihoods, reduce vulnerability while assuring good governance for present and future generations".
The Policy is organized into three sections: Section 1 presents the Overview of Ghana's water sector comprising the state of resources and management institutions, development priorities, international obligations, broad principles leading to policy formulation; Section 2 details the key policy issues related to the basic principles and challenges confronting water resources management development and use in the three sub-sectors water resources management, urban water supply, and community water and sanitation; Section 3 outlines proposals and guidelines for implementing the policy including institutional roles and responsibilities, standards, regulations, definitions and references.
Ghana's water resources potential is divided into surface water (mainly river systems) and groundwater sources. The main consumptive uses of water in Ghana are water supply, irrigation and livestock watering. The main non-consumptive uses are inland fisheries, water transport and hydropower generation. Ghana is a riparian state that shares a number of basins with neighbouring countries (Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin and Mali). In managing demand for competing uses of water, needs for improving food supplies must be balanced with preserving water courses or wetlands for fish and wildlife.
The main body of the Policy is Section 2, which sets out strategic actions for water resources management, urban water supply and community water and sanitation. For each of these broad areas, a number of focus areas for policy considerations have been identified. Within each broad are, focus areas are specified and the main principles and challenges are listed for each focus area, followed by policy objectives and the corresponding measures. Focus areas include: integrated water resources management; (improved) access to water; water for food security; climate variability and change; capacity building and public awareness creation; good governance; international cooperation; urban water supply; hygiene education and environmental sanitation; emergency and extreme events; access to potable water; decentralised delivery of water and sanitation services; gender mainstreaming; monitoring and evaluation.
As for key water sector institutions, the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing (MWRWH) is the lead governing institution responsible for water. The key agencies of MWRWH carrying ministry's water resources management and drinking water programmes are the Water Resources Commission (WRC), the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA). Other institutions involved in the water sector are: the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, District Assemblies; the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority; the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, the Hydrological Services Department, the Water Research Institute the Ministry of Fisheries and some other ministries and agencies. Main legislation includes the Water Resources Commission Act, the Community Water and Sanitation Agency Act and the Irrigation Development Authority Regulations, 1987.