Insights into the conundrum of groundwater access and socio-cultural practice in north-western Ghana

Home burial is a highly regarded socio-cultural practice in most societies. Yet, it is well documented that it militates against the effort to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6, which seeks to ensure access to clean water and sanitation for all. Beyond the conventional discourse on politics, technology, and finances, socio-cultural practices also play a critical role in making potable water available and accessible to households in communities. Drawing from and contributing to the body of knowledge on access to potable water in rural areas, this article opines that the role of everyday socio-cultural practices is downplayed in this discourse. This article employed a qualitative research approach, including content analysis of 60 purposively selected household heads’ interviews from rural Ghana, complemented by Geographic Positioning System and ArcGIS 10.5 software analyses. It became evident that home burial is a key socio-cultural practice that influences the siting, access, and utilization of potable water from boreholes – the primary source of potable water in the study location. We argue that the location of community burial spots is a major constraint on access and availability of potable water to households. We conclude that, unless stakeholders are seen to be providing solutions to address the socio-cultural aspects of the issue, providing potable water in communities that practice home burial will always be a daunting task.