‘You just have to stay awake and keep spying on the pipes’: Everyday experiences of piped water access in Tamale, Ghana

Abstract

Analysis of access to water seems to focus mainly on the availability of or proximity to water supply infrastructure. The study of the lived experiences of accessing water from these infrastructures is increasingly gaining traction as a more useful way of demonstrating the complexities of urban water access in the global South. Through participant observations and in-depth interviews, this study explored the lived experiences of access to water from piped water network in Kpanvo and Katariga communities in Tamale, Ghana. The study found that piped water rationing in Tamale has created a default situation where households do not get regular and continuous supply of water. Prominently, there is a high degree of variability in terms of the experiences of water flow interruptions in the city. This gives rise to everyday practices in which residents stay awake to spy on the pipes, especially on days they anticipate piped water flows. In addition, piped water quality concerns and frequent disconnections due to nonpayment of service bills featured prominently in the everyday experiences of households in these communities. The study concludes that access to water ought to be understood not only in terms of physical access to piped water networks – critical as they may be – but also in terms of the lived experiences which characterize piped water access regimes at households and neighbourhood scales. These scales of analysis illuminate the everyday experiences of water access which would otherwise be concealed in generalized water access conditions in cities.