IWRA World Water Congress 2025 Marrakech Morocco
Water Quality and One Health Opportunities
Author(s): Joseph Zume, Kebreab Ghebremichael, Sarina Ergas, Allan Feldman, Simon Mariwah, Peter Obeng, Kofi Owusu
Joseph Zume(1), Kebreab Ghebremichael(2), Sarina Ergas(2), Allan Feldman(2), Simon Mariwah(3), Peter Obeng(3), Kofi Owusu(3)
1. Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, USA.
2. University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
3. Universty od Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
December 3, 2025
Oral: PDFAbstractBACKGROUND
Two critical challenges are common in peri-urban neighborhoods of most Sub-Saharan African cities:
- Poor access to good quality drinking water
- Lack of access to improved sanitation facilities
In Ghana, about 67% of the total population lacks access to improved sanitation facilities and 70% of diseases in the country are water-borne.
CONCLUSIONS
- Our findings provide clear evidence of both saltwater intrusion and sanitation-related contamination in domestic wells.
- Domestic wells in communities closest to the coastline are more impacted by saltwater intrusion than those farther inland.
- Survey responses indicate a general disregard for safe water disposal practices, further exacerbating water quality issues.
- Rising temperatures, increasing floods, poor drainage systems, and prevalence of onsite sanitation systems are recipes for exacerbated climate change impacts on groundwater quality in the study area.
- These results highlight the urgent need for improved water resource management and community education in peri-urban Cape Coast.