Community Water and Sanitation Agreement (Ghana)

A Community Water and Sanitation Agreement in Ghana records the obligations the parties accept and the terms governing their arrangement.

The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), established under the Community Water and Sanitation Agency Act 1998 (Act 564) and supervised by the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR), is the primary government body responsible for enabling rural and small-town water supply and sanitation in Ghana. The CWSA operates in all sixteen regions of Ghana and works with District Assemblies, Water and Sanitation Development Boards (WSDBs), and private water system operators to deliver safe, reliable, and affordable water to communities not served by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).

The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), operating under the Ghana Water Company Limited (Establishments) Instrument 1999 (L.I. 1648) and supervised by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) under the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission Act 1997 (Act 538), supplies piped water to urban areas and major towns. In rural and peri-urban areas outside the GWCL distribution network, the CWSA and community-managed systems deliver water through boreholes, hand pumps, small piped systems, and standpipes.

The Water Use Act 1960 (Act 34) and the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1994 (Act 490) regulate the abstraction of water from rivers, lakes, and groundwater sources in Ghana. The Water Resources Commission (WRC), established under the Water Resources Commission Act 1996 (Act 522), issues water use licences to water system operators abstracting water from natural sources. A community water system that abstracts water from a borehole, river, or lake requires a water use licence from the WRC under Act 522.

The Environmental Sanitation Policy of Ghana — administered by the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources — establishes national standards for household sanitation, faecal sludge management, and solid waste disposal. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), established under the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1994 (Act 490), enforces environmental standards applicable to sanitation facilities and water treatment systems. Open defaecation-free (ODF) communities in Ghana are certified by the CWSA and the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources following verification inspections.

The Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) under the Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936) are responsible for the provision of water and sanitation services in their districts. The District Assembly may establish Water and Sanitation Development Boards (WSDBs) to manage community water systems and collect water tariffs for system maintenance and operation. Water tariffs in CWSA-managed systems are set and regulated by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) under the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission Act 1997 (Act 538), which also handles complaints from water users against service providers.

Ghana's National Water Policy and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency Act 1998 (Act 564) together establish the community-managed water supply model as the preferred approach for rural and small-town water delivery. Under this model, communities — through their Water and Sanitation Development Boards (WSDBs) — own and manage water systems with technical and financial support from the CWSA and District Assemblies. The Community Water and Sanitation Agreement formalises this model in writing, creating enforceable obligations for all parties under the Contract Act 1960 (Act 25).

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), established under the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission Act 1997 (Act 538), regulates water tariffs and service quality for utility-scale water service providers in Ghana. While CWSA community systems operate under cost-recovery tariffs rather than utility tariffs, the PURC's principles of tariff transparency, affordability, and service quality inform best practice for Community Water and Sanitation Agreements throughout all sixteen regions of Ghana, from Greater Accra to the Upper West Region.

A Community Water and Sanitation Agreement in Ghana is needed whenever two or more parties — whether community members, institutions, local government bodies, or private operators — need a written record of their respective rights and obligations regarding a shared water supply facility, a communal sanitation facility, or a rural water and sanitation system managed under the framework of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency Act 1998 (Act 564).

A Community Water and Sanitation Agreement is required when a Water and Sanitation Development Board (WSDB) formally documents the terms under which households in a rural community or small town in Ghana will pay a water tariff for access to a borehole or small piped system, and defines the obligations of the WSDB to maintain the system and of the community members to pay their water fees and protect the infrastructure.

A Community Water and Sanitation Agreement is needed when a school, clinic, church, mosque, or community centre in Ghana wishes to formalise shared access to a borehole or handpump installed by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) or by the CWSA, and the parties need to agree on cost-sharing, responsibility for maintenance and spare parts, and the procedure for managing breakdowns.

A Community Water and Sanitation Agreement is required when a company engaged in agricultural production — for example, a cocoa or oil palm farm — wishes to share a water source with an adjacent community in one of Ghana's sixteen regions, and the parties need a written agreement that protects the community's water rights under the Water Resources Commission Act 1996 (Act 522) while permitting the company's commercial water use.

A Community Water and Sanitation Agreement is needed when a Metropolitan, Municipal, or District Assembly (MMDA) acting under the Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936) commissions a private operator to manage a water kiosk network or standpipe system serving a peri-urban settlement, and the parties need a service-level agreement covering tariff collection, reporting, maintenance, and quality standards.

A Community Water and Sanitation Agreement is required when an international development organisation or NGO registered under the Incorporated Private Partnerships Act 1962 (Act 152) finances the construction of a water and sanitation facility in a Ghanaian community, and the parties — including the NGO, the District Assembly, and the beneficiary community — need a written agreement on post-construction ownership, operation, maintenance, and financial sustainability.

A Community Water and Sanitation Agreement is needed when a landlord and a group of tenants in a shared compound property or multi-family dwelling in Accra, Kumasi, or another Ghanaian city need to formalise the cost-sharing arrangement for the compound's private water supply — whether sourced from the GWCL network, a private borehole, or a water tanker delivery service — and for the maintenance of shared toilet and bathroom facilities.

A Community Water and Sanitation Agreement is needed when a mining company operating under a licence from the Minerals Commission under the Minerals and Mining Act 2006 (Act 703) negotiates a water use arrangement with an adjacent rural community affected by the mining operations, and the parties must document the community's access to potable water, the company's mitigation obligations under the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1994 (Act 490), and the contributions the mining company will make to community water and sanitation infrastructure.

A Community Water and Sanitation Agreement is required when a local government unit commissions a water infrastructure project funded by a development partner such as the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), or UNICEF Ghana, and the donor requires a formal community ownership and operation agreement as a pre-condition for disbursement of project funds, consistent with the community management principles of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency Act 1998 (Act 564).

A Community Water and Sanitation Agreement in Ghana that effectively governs the rights and obligations of parties accessing or managing a shared water and sanitation facility under the Community Water and Sanitation Agency Act 1998 (Act 564) must contain the following essential elements.

Parties: Full names, addresses, and roles of all parties to the agreement — the water system owner or operator (whether a Water and Sanitation Development Board (WSDB), a private operator, a District Assembly acting under the Local Governance Act 2016 (Act 936), an NGO, or an individual), and the community, institution, or user group being served. Where the system is managed by the CWSA or funded by government, the relevant CWSA regional office and District Assembly should be identified.

Facility Description: A precise description of the water and sanitation facility covered by the agreement — type (borehole with handpump, solar-powered borehole, gravity-fed piped system, water kiosk, standpipe, rainwater harvesting system, or CWSA-standard latrine block), location (community name, district, region), Water Resources Commission (WRC) licence number under the Water Resources Commission Act 1996 (Act 522) where applicable, and capacity (litres per day or households served).

Water Rights and Access: The nature and scope of the user community's right to access water from the facility — whether free, at a regulated tariff set by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) under the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission Act 1997 (Act 538), or at a cost-recovery tariff determined by the WSDB — and the hours of operation, daily allocation per household, and priority access rules for domestic, agricultural, and institutional uses.

Water Tariff and Payment: The water tariff or connection fee, the payment schedule and method (mobile money under the Payment Systems and Services Act 2019 (Act 987), cash at the kiosk, or deduction from community levy), the consequences of non-payment, and the use to which collected tariff revenues will be applied — including operation, maintenance, spare parts, and a caretaker salary.

Maintenance Responsibilities: A clear allocation of maintenance obligations between the system operator and the users — for example, the operator's responsibility for major repairs, pump replacement, water quality testing, and chlorination, and the users' responsibility to protect the facility from damage, report faults promptly, and contribute to a maintenance reserve fund. Reference to the CWSA's standard operation and maintenance guidelines is recommended.

Water Quality Standards: The operator's obligation to supply water that meets the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) potable water standards and the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality, to conduct regular water quality testing, and to notify users of any contamination event. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1994 (Act 490) may inspect water facilities and issue compliance notices.

Sanitation Obligations: Where the agreement covers sanitation facilities — communal latrines, handwashing stations, faecal sludge management, or solid waste disposal — the obligations of each party to maintain hygienic conditions, to pay sanitation fees, to participate in open-defaecation-free (ODF) campaigns, and to comply with CWSA and Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources standards.

Dispute Resolution: A procedure for resolving disputes about water access, tariff collection, maintenance failures, or water quality — including referral to the WSDB or District Assembly in the first instance, followed by mediation by the CWSA regional office, and final determination by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) for tariff disputes or the High Court for other disputes.

Term and Review: The initial period of the agreement, the procedure for reviewing water tariffs and service standards in consultation with the community, and the conditions under which the agreement may be amended or terminated, including provisions for continuity of water supply during any transition.

Forms-legal.com provides this Community Water and Sanitation Agreement template as a starting point for formalising water access arrangements in Ghana. Communities, District Assemblies, NGOs, and operators should adapt the template to the specific technical, financial, and governance arrangements of their water system and seek guidance from the CWSA regional office and a solicitor enrolled with the Ghana Bar Association for complex or high-value water infrastructure agreements.

Monitoring and Reporting: The operator's obligation to maintain records of water production, tariff collection, maintenance expenditure, and water quality test results, and to share quarterly reports with the District Assembly and the CWSA regional office. Transparency in financial management reduces the risk of misappropriation of tariff revenues and builds community trust in the WSDB governance structure established under the Community Water and Sanitation Agency Act 1998 (Act 564).

Capacity Building: The CWSA's and District Assembly's obligations to provide training for WSDB members, caretakers, and community water guards in operation and maintenance procedures, water quality testing, financial management, and community mobilisation, in accordance with CWSA training standards applicable across Ghana's sixteen administrative regions.