Dry wells and a non-functioning borehole in Atebubu highlight the growing water crisis facing residents as changing rainfall patterns and climate variability reduce groundwater supply.
At 4:00 every morning, 40-year-old Fati Abdullai wakes up with one goal: to find water.
Carrying two metal bowls on her head, she walks through the dark streets of Atebubu in Ghana’s Bono East Region. If she is lucky, she returns home with just two bowls of water. But even that is not enough.
“You can fetch two bowls of water, and it will still not be sufficient,” she says quietly. “Your children will bathe and go to school, but there will be no water left to cook.”
The water point she depends on is far away. A round trip takes about 30 minutes. Often, she can only carry one bowl home before exhaustion stops her from going back for the second. The result is pain.
“We suffer body pains and leg pains,” she says. “But we have no choice. We need water.”
In Atebubu, the problem is not the absence of boreholes or wells. In fact, almost every household has a borehole or a well. The problem is that many of them no longer produce water.
When the dry season arrives, or when rains are delayed for weeks, many wells and boreholes simply stop working. What once served families throughout the year now runs dry.
During these periods, water becomes the hardest commodity to find. Residents are then forced to walk long distances or depend on unsafe river water. For Ama Bayo, another resident, the situation has become unbearable.
“We have food in Atebubu,” she explains. “But water is the biggest problem we face.”
To fetch water, she travels from her neighbourhood to a distant place known locally as Daadinsei Wura. “It is not easy,” she says. “Even though we have many boreholes here, most of them don’t have water.”
Some boreholes were drilled recently, but still failed to produce enough water. Access to water, residents say, now depends on who can afford it.
“Those with money are the ones who can get water,” Ama says. “But many of us cannot.” During the harmattan season, the situation becomes worse.
Days without water
In Zongo Number One, Mohammed Abdul Rahman says water sometimes disappears completely.
“There are times we go three to five days without water,” he explains.
Even when water flows through boreholes, it often comes briefly and stops again. Residents rush with buckets and jerry cans whenever water appears.
Zainab Fuseini describes how they manage the small supply. “When the water comes, we fetch two or three buckets,” she says. “Then it stops. Later we open the tap again and maybe it will come small.”
The system forces families to store water carefully and share limited supplies. Around the boreholes, long queues of containers wait for their turn.
The water crisis is also affecting education. At Best Brain College, head teacher Jonathan Forson says the problem is disrupting learning.
“In a class of about 30 students, sometimes only 15 or 20 arrive early,” he explains.
Many children spend their mornings searching for water before school. Others arrive tired after carrying heavy containers for long distances.
“Some students come late. Some look very tired in class,” he says. “The water problem is affecting academics seriously.”
Teachers face the same challenge. Some ask permission to leave school early so they can join the long queues for water.
For 14-year-old Musah Ramatu, a student at the school, the struggle begins before sunrise.
“The water situation here is very poor,” she says. Because of the daily search for water, she and many classmates arrive late for lessons.
“Sometimes when we carry the gallons we feel much stressed,” she says. “When we come to class, we cannot learn well.” The physical strain, she says, is slowing down their education.
When water is not safe
Scarcity has also forced some residents to use unsafe water. A 29-year-old mother of five, Faustina Dakoraa, says many families now rely on polluted nearby river source.
Every day, many residents, especially school-going children, gather at a nearby river to fetch water. The place often looks like a busy market.
Children arrive on bicycles carrying yellow jerry cans tied to their bikes. Others walk quickly with buckets and pans on their heads. They rush to fill the containers and ride back home before school begins.
Mothers also fetch water. Despite the dirty water, the river has become one of the few reliable sources of water when boreholes and wells run dry.
Faustina says families have no other option. “When it rains heavily, waste from the rubbish dump enters the water,” she explains.
Diapers, sanitary pads and other waste flow into the river. “But because water is scarce, people still use it,” she says. “Some cook with it and even drink it.”
Health officials in the Atebubu-Amantin Municipality say waterborne diseases are now among the top three illnesses reported in the municipality.
Diseases such as typhoid and diarrhoea are becoming common, especially among children.
“It brings sickness,” Faustina explains. “Typhoid and many other diseases.” “We really need help.”
Climate Change is making it worse
The water crisis in Atebubu is not only a local infrastructure problem. Climate experts say changing weather patterns are also worsening the situation.
Data from the Ghana Meteorological Agency shows that parts of Ghana’s middle belt, including Atebubu, have recorded rainfall deficits of more than 20 percent in recent years. This means the area is receiving far less rain than normal.
Atebubu depends heavily on seasonal rains to recharge wells and boreholes. But when rains delay or fall below average levels, groundwater levels drop quickly.
As a result, many of the boreholes and wells found in households across the town stop yielding water during long dry seasons. For residents, this means the search for water becomes harder every year.
According to hydro-geophysicist Mohammed Abdul Mumin of Primux Technology, many boreholes in the area are too shallow.
These boreholes depend largely on seasonal rainfall to recharge groundwater. When rainfall becomes irregular, a growing effect of changing weather patterns, the shallow systems quickly dry up.
“The more rain the area receives, the more water is available underground,” he explains. “But when rains reduce or delay, the boreholes stop yielding water.”
The geology of the area also contributes to the problem. Much of Atebubu sits on sandstone formations, which store groundwater unevenly. Some areas contain thick sandstone that can supply water continuously, while others contain clay layers that restrict water flow.
When boreholes are drilled in the wrong places, they often fail. To address this challenge, experts recommend deeper drilling.
Mr Abdul-Mumin says boreholes should reach at least 120 metres underground to access more reliable water sources. Proper groundwater surveys conducted by hydrologists are also essential before drilling begins. This scientific approach can greatly improve success rates.
Recent research also supports what experts have been saying about groundwater in the municipality. A study published in July 2025 on the scientific platform Springer Nature examined groundwater potential and water quality in the Atebubu-Amantin Municipality.
The research found that underground rocks in the area are often fractured, meaning they can store water, but mostly at deeper levels.
Rocks such as sandstone, pebbly beds and limestone were identified as good water-bearing formations. However, areas covered by mudstone and shale were found to have low groundwater potential, making it difficult to obtain water from shallow boreholes.
Because of this, the study recommends that boreholes in the municipality should be drilled to at least 120 metres deep to improve water supply. The research also confirmed another challenge residents already know too well.
It found that many boreholes only produce water during the rainy season, while more than 60 percent of wells and small dams dry up during the dry season. However, the study brought one piece of good news.
Tests showed that the quality of groundwater in the municipality is generally safe, with chemical and heavy metal levels within standards set by the World Health Organization for drinking water.
The problem, researchers say, is not the quality of water, but the limited amount available.
A new plan for Atebubu
The Atebubu-Amantin Municipal Assembly says it has started implementing new solutions.
Municipal Chief Executive Mas’ud Musah Ayarba Thomas explains that the water crisis has lasted for decades.
“When we drill ten boreholes, sometimes four do not produce water,” he says.
To change this, the assembly has now engaged hydrologists to identify the best drilling locations. So far, 17 new boreholes have been drilled across the municipality based on expert advice.
“All the places identified by the hydrologist produced water when we drilled,” he says.
The boreholes are currently being mechanized to supply nearby communities. If successful, the assembly plans to drill another 15 boreholes in the coming years.
But local authorities say the real long-term solution may lie elsewhere. Plans are being developed to tap water from the nearby river, treat it, and supply it to the municipality through a proper distribution system.
The project would include a water treatment plant to ensure the water is safe to drink.
“It will not be raw river water,” the municipal chief executive says. “There will be treatment so people receive clean and safe water.”
The proposal has already been discussed with the central government, who has reportedly assured local leaders of government support.
For residents like Fati Abdullai, any lasting solution cannot come soon enough. Every morning, she still walks long distances for water.
But the promise of deeper boreholes, scientific drilling and a new municipal water system is giving the town hope. Because in Atebubu, life revolves around one simple truth. Without water, everything stops.
This is a JoyNews-CDKN-University of Ghana C3SS project with funding from CLARE R4I Opportunities Fund.
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