This study assessed sustainability of small town and rural water services in northern Ghana using lessons from Jirapa Municipality. A case study design, deploying mixed methods, was employed. Data were obtained from household questionnaires administration and in-depth interviews with community leaders and institutional stakeholders in the water sector. The results revealed that, though access to potable water has increased since the introduction of community-management of water services in Jirapa Municipality, there are still difficulties in terms of adequate water supply. Sustainability challenges revealed by the study are managerial and technical, including ineffective water-management committees, inadequate operations and maintenance capacity, inadequate funds to maintain facilities and lack of continuing support. The study concludes that the apparently improved access to potable water in the Municipality may be short-lived. To improve and sustain water services, water-management committees should be established and trained in administration, operations, maintenance and tariff setting. Also, innovative ways, such as establishing a ‘water-management fund’, should be used to provide continuing support to communities.

中文翻译：

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加纳北部社区管理的小城镇和农村供水系统的可持续性：上西部地区的经验教训

本研究利用吉拉帕市的经验评估了加纳北部小镇和农村供水服务的可持续性。采用案例研究设计，采用混合方法。数据来自家庭问卷管理和与水部门的社区领袖和机构利益相关者的深入访谈。结果表明，尽管自吉拉帕市实行社区供水服务管理以来，饮用水的获取有所增加，但在供水充足方面仍然存在困难。该研究揭示的可持续性挑战是管理和技术方面的挑战，包括水管理委员会效率低下、运营和维护能力不足、设施维护资金不足以及缺乏持续支持。该研究得出的结论是，该市饮用水供应的明显改善可能是短暂的。为改善和维持水服务，应建立水管理委员会，并在管理、运营、维护和收费设置方面进行培训。此外，应采用创新方式，例如建立“水资源管理基金”，为社区提供持续支持。