Flood-hit Upper East communities battle water pollution and sanitation risks

Flood-hit Upper East communities battle water pollution and sanitation risks in northern Ghana every year between August and September. Sonnabel, the operator of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso, spills excess water to safeguard the dam's structural integrity. This, combined with intense rainfall events, frequently triggers flooding across northern Ghana, particularly in the Upper East, Upper West, and North-East regions.

In Salpiiga, a community in the Bawku West District, residents say floodwaters have polluted wells and boreholes that serve as their primary sources of drinking water. The Assembly Member for the area, Awini Asaana Zakari, explained that sanitation facilities have also been severely impacted. Zakari said, "Usually, the floods leave behind a lot of infections. Water flows into our drinking water sources, such as dugouts, boreholes, and some streams that feed into the main source, the White Volta. So, all these are polluted." Zakari revealed that "We were able to get household latrines all over (the community), but when the flood came, almost all the latrines collapsed, and in fact, that year there were a lot of sanitation issues here."

Mbabugri Samadu, a local farmer, said they have begun planting earlier than usual to avoid losses. Samadu revealed, "But, when we start early, sometimes the crops don't do well because of delays in rainfall." Samadu added, "For the water body, we are even planting trees to protect it from causing erosion whenever it rains." At Pwalugu in the Talensi District, residents say several water dugouts have collapsed. Wilson Abaa, a resident, recounted how a dugout he constructed was destroyed two years ago. Abaa said, "There was water in the dugout, and many people were coming (to fetch). In a day, it could serve up to a hundred people