Lessons from the recent flood in Accra, Ghana.

The recent flooding in Accra has broken my heart. Our capital, and our pride, were completely flooded. In hours families have seen everything they owned destroyed. Some Ghanaians have lost their homes and livelihoods, and sadly some have even lost their lives. I am not writing this from afar. I saw this. Every single person in Ghana saw this. And before I say anything further, please know that our thoughts and prayers go to every single family that was impacted. If you read these words and feel as though you were personally affected by the disaster, we see you, and we are truly sorry.

As the waters recede from Accra, something cannot be ignored. Something other than mud and debris was left in the wake of the floods. A mirror. Take a look at the pictures. The gutters did not become clogged due to natural means. They became clogged due to us. Plastic bottles. Sachet water bags. Food wrappers. Styrofoam. All forms of non-biodegradable waste that have been sitting in drains for months, possibly even years, until the rain came and the systems simply could not hold the volume of water.

That said, here is what continues to haunt us as we work in rural water access every single day. Flooded water does not remain stagnant in Accra. It flows. It goes downstream into rivers, into streams, and into the exact water bodies that countless communities throughout the Eastern Region, Central Region, and Volta Regions rely upon for their daily drinking water. Communities without boreholes. Communities where the river is the only source of drinking water.

Photo credit: google search

Now picture all of that plastic, all of that sewage, all of the chemicals from Accra's gutters flowing directly into the source of water that a mother is scooping water from for her children. This is not a hypothetical situation. This is literally what occurs when floodwaters exit a city and flow into villages 80 kilometres downstream.

It may seem unusual for a water NGO to discuss issues related to waste management and flood response. However, the reason for this discussion is quite straightforward because they are interconnected. For example, at WellsForAll we have drilled 25 boreholes in Ghana specifically to provide rural communities with reliable access to clean drinking water because surface water (rivers, streams, etc.) is generally unreliable and typically contaminated. As such, events such as last week's flood are precisely why this type of infrastructure is needed. Additionally, every time a flood occurs in a city and carries pollutants downstream into the water bodies relied upon by rural communities, it serves to reinforce the argument for protected ground water sources such as boreholes. Clean water begins long before reaching the well head. It begins with how individuals treat their surroundings.

Photo credit: google search

Therefore, where do we go from here? There are three simultaneous steps required:

first -- effective waste education -- authentic, practical educational programmes that provide communities with information on how to separate recyclables from organics and how the act of dumping in drains can result in pollution in their drinking water.

second -- adequate recycling facilities -- since you cannot request residents to recycle if there is no place available to accept those materials.

third -- a new perspective on personal responsibility. Each Ghanaian resident in every city and every village requires to recognize that the plastic bag they discard today may end up in someone's drinking water tomorrow.

At WellsForAll we will continue to perform our normal functions, which are drilling wells/boreholes, providing access to clean drinking water, and educating communities on proper WASH practices. However, we are utilising this opportunity to make our voices heard because the water crisis in Ghana is more than merely accessing water. It is about protecting it. Protecting water begins with each of us individually.