Prediction of Potential Groundwater Over-abstraction: A Safe-yield Approach-A Case Study of Kasena-Nankana District of UE Region of Ghana

Abstract: There seem too little or no management plan to safe-guard groundwater extraction and ensure sustainability, even though, over 80 % of the rural areas in Ghana, which make up about 70 % of Ghana’s population, depend on groundwater as a source of portable drinking water by means of mostly boreholes, hand-dug wells fitted with hand pumps. This study provides safe measurement as a framework to manage and ensure the sustainability of groundwater extraction in Upper East Region of Ghana. Mathematical relations to estimate the times and the total number of people required to exceed the safe yields of selected boreholes had been developed. The study revealed that (7) out of the (28) selected boreholes are being over-pumped; (2) of the boreholes currently have less than (25) years to be susceptible to over-pumping and (19) boreholes have more than (25) years to be susceptible to over-pumping. The study has also estimated the maximum number of people each of the selected boreholes could serve. Recommendations has been made for the estimation of safe on all boreholes in the Districts of Ghana to help all stakeholders to be able plan and monitor yields of boreholes to ensure sustainability of rural water supply in Ghana; Spatial Distribution Map of all boreholes and their safe yields must be developed to facilitate monitoring activities. Further studies are on-going to ascertain the curren