The major consumptive uses in Ghana are water supply, irrigation and livestock watering. Domestic and industrial urban water supplies are based almost entirely on surface water, either impounded behind small dams or diverted by weirs in rivers. Water supplies in rural areas, however, are obtained almost exclusively from groundwater sources. The various groundwater development programmes have resulted in the establishment of more than 10,000 boreholes countrywide. At present irrigation development does not play an important role in the overall water resources balance considerations. However, the potential for irrigation has been shown to be considerably larger than the present land area being irrigated. The main non-consumptive uses are hydropower generation, inland fisheries and water navigation.
On the basis of surface water resources alone, the consumptive water demand for 2020 has been projected to be 5.13 billion m3, which is 13 percent of the surface water resources. Likewise, the non-consumptive demand can also be met from the surface water available. Rainwater harvesting has also become common and has a great potential to increase water availability in certain localised areas. It can be concluded, that if properly conserved and distributed, the surface water resources of the country should be adequate to meet future demands
