Domestic water accessibility during COVID-19: Challenges and coping strategies in Somanya and its surrounding rural communities of Ghana

Reducing the spread of COVID-19 partly depends on easy access to water to ensure adherence to good hygienic practices. However, most communities in Ghana face a series of challenges in accessing improved water sources. This study seeks to examine water access and its associated challenges, and the various strategies adopted by households to cope with these challenges in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of Ghana during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed. Communities were stratified into rural and urban, and 400 households were randomly sampled for questionnaire administration. The data was inputted into SPSS and the results were analyzed using chi-square and descriptive statistics. Purposive and convenient sampling was used to select 30 informants for the qualitative interviews and the results were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings show that about 68.5% of households have access to pipe-borne water during COVID-19 compared to 8% who use unhygienic sources. Most households (54.5%) depended on pipe-borne water sources outside their dwellings. The main water accessibility challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic was the increased cost of water (41%) even though water provision was supposed to be free during the early period of the pandemic. Most respondents adapted to the situation by storing water using small-sized storage facilities and also had to buy from other vendors at an expensive rate. The study recommends the formation of a water and sanitation board and an increase in the capacity of the pumping station to ensure adequate provision of potable water for the communities on a sustainable basis.