Wastewater Production, Treatment, and Use in Ghana Maxwell Anim Gyampo Department of Earth and Environmental Science University for Development Studies, Navrongo, Ghana Background It is projected that Africa’s population will triple by 2050 and the bulk of this phenomenal increase will primarily be in the urban and peri-urban areas. Also, by 2015, about twenty-five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa will have higher urban populations than rural, and this number is expected to increase to 41 countries by 2030 (UN-Habitat, 2001). Currently, about 44% of the population in the West African sub-region live in urban areas (UNPD, 2004), compared to only 4% in 1920. The same 44% applies to Ghana, and this number is expected to rise rapidly due to the high annual growth rates of between 6-9% (GSS, 2002). The increasing urban population comes along with increasing demand for sanitation infrastructure. In Ghana, current urban sanitation infrastructure is inadequate and seems not to be keeping pace with population growth rate, about only 4–5% of the population is linked with – infrequently functional – sewage systems and sewerage treatment plants. Most untreated wastewater ends up in storm-water gutters, streams and other water bodies which are often used as sources for irrigation water (Keraita et al. 2002). In many urban and peri-urban, especially, water-stressed areas, wastewater constitutes the only available surface water for irrigation in the dry season Wastewater production and Treatment The actual annual total waste production in Ghana has not been estimated yet. This is due to fact that no little or no data exist on commercial and industrial wastewater production, except o domestic wastewater. In 2006, the estimated total amount of wastewater (domestic- grey and black waters, produced in urban Ghana was estimated to be approximately 280 million m 3 . With increasing spread of processing facilities into inland areas future increases in the percentage of wastewater from industrial sources could be expected. It is estimated that urban wastewater generation in Ghana will increase from about 530, 346 m 3 /day (36%) in 2000 to about 1,452,383 m 3 /day (45%) in 2020 (Agodzo, 2003). Wastewater treatment in the ten regions of Ghana is very abysmal, only less than 8% of wastewaters (domestic) in Ghana undergo some form of treatment. Most industries are located along the coast discharge their effluent directly into the ocean without any form of treatment, while those located in land discharge their effluent into major streams and urban storm drains. Thus, existing wastewater treatment facilities are used for treating domestic wastewater. The most dominant wastewater treatment plant is the stabilization ponds, which exist in almost all the regional capital cities, followed by the trickling filter and activated sludge respectively. Wastewater Use and Disposal Only about 10% of urban wastewater emanating from domestic and municipal sources is disposed off through sewage networks connected to treatment plants. As has been earlier, virtually all commercial and industrial wastewaters are disposed of into the natural environment (ocean, streams and wetlands) untreated. Currently, about 20% of households do not have toilet facilities, and this increases to about 70% in the three northern regions, which are the poorest among the ten regions of Ghana. 22% of households mainly from rural areas use pit latrines therefore their wastewater (blackwater) is not available for use while about 38% of the