June 2022
Expanding the Water Quality Assurance Fund
What is the Water Quality Assurance Fund?
Monitoring water quality is crucial for ensuring that treatment processes are effective and that consumers receive safe water. For small rural water systems, centralizing water quality testing at a professional laboratory is more effective and economical than onsite testing.
The Water Quality Assurance Fund encourages Ghana Water Company Limited’s laboratory to provide water quality monitoring services to small water systems in the nearby rural district of Asutifi North. Under the terms of the Assurance Fund, water systems are responsible for paying Ghana Water Company Limited for monthly testing services. If water systems defaulted on their payments, Ghana Water Company Limited could file a claim against the Assurance Fund.
Our Program Officer Bashiru is meeting with the Drobo Water Safety Management Team in the Jaman South district to finalize the expansion.
Evaluation of the Water Quality Assurance Fund model
To support a robust evaluation, REAL-Water is expanding the Water Quality Assurance Fund model beyond the initial pilot district of Asutifi North in Ghana. The team engaged local authorities in the Ahafo and Bono regions (regional coordinating councils, Community Water and Sanitation Agency) and approached three districts for enrollment in the Assurance Fund. One of them, Jaman South district, officially enrolled seven water systems in March 2022. These water systems serve approximately 50,000 people collectively and do not currently monitor water quality. They will receive monthly testing services from Ghana Water Company Limited. Aquaya also enrolled three Safe Water Network piped systems in Asutifi North.
To date, the Water Quality Assurance Fund is limited to a Ghanaian account that Aquaya seeded with funds from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. We are exploring options for either creating a single fund that supports testing in multiple countries or establishing dedicated accounts in each evaluation country.
Aquaya and Water Mission identified three counties in Kenya (Trans-Nzoia, West Pokot, and Uasin Gishu), two districts in Uganda (Luuka and Kabarole), and one region in Tanzania (Dodoma) as possible candidates to replicate the Water Quality Assurance Fund model.
Learn More: Lessons Learned – Water Quality Assurance Fund
In collaboration with USAID.
