The Small Town Water Supply System project sponsored by the International Development Association of World Bank is to be completed in July.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Mr Clement Bugase, said this in a media briefing after some of the board members of the agency paid a two- day working visit to some of the project sites in the Upper East Region to inspect the progress of work.

The CEO, who expressed happiness about the progress of work executed by the contractors so far, indicated that out of the 13 small town water supply system and the 250 boreholes expected to be executed, 246 are being installed.

The beneficiaries are Bolgatanga Municipality, Bongo District, Kassena Nankana Municipality, Kassena-Nankana West, Bawku West and Talensi Districts.

Under the small town water supply system which has hygiene and sanitation components, schools, training health institutions and clinics are to benefit from institutional latrines, which are gender and disability friendly.

Mr Bugase said government intention is to ensure that majority of the rural folks get potable water to drink to avoid contracting water borne related diseases.

The Board Chairman of the Agency, Nana Danso Adjei II asked the beneficiary communities to attach greater importance to the sanitation and hygiene component of the project.

He advised them not to engage in acts such open defecation and indiscriminate burial of corpses that are likely to affect the water quality.

“There is no need for the government and its donors spending so much money to provide quality water for you to drink only for you to contaminate it to drink and get sickness for the government to again spend additional money in taken care of you.

“You must therefore ensure that your activities do not pollute the water before it gets home for consumption”, he said.

He called on the water and sanitation management teams (WSMTs) to see to the effective running of the project and adopt pragmatic strategy to sustain the facilities.

He said the board has noticed that one of the major challenges facing the WSMTs is management problem, and this could be translated into technical challenge.

Nana Adjei gave the assurance that his outfit would work hard to redress the challenge.

Among some of the communities the board members visited included Kalbeon and Tindongmolgo in the Bolgatanga Municipality, Katiu in the Kassena-Nankana West District, Kolgo in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality and Zorko and Bongo in the Bongo District.