Does self-reported water collection time differ from observed water collection time? Evidence from the Upper West Region of Ghana

Abstract

Water collection time is a key indicator in tracking access to drinking water. Over the years, water surveillance agencies have relied on water collectors for information on water collection time to measure progress of water supply. However, emerging evidence shows that water collection times reported by water collectors in developing countries are often imprecise. To contribute to knowledge about the validity or otherwise of self-reported water collection times, this study explored the association between self-reported water collection times and observed water collection times in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Data on water collection times were gathered from 412 water collectors in Daffiama-Issa-Bussie District and Lawra Municipality, first through interviews, and second by observation. From the results, self-reported water collection times were significantly (P<0.01) lower than observed water collection times. The average round-trip water collection time reported by water collectors (32 minutes) was 8 minutes lower than observed water collection times (40 minutes). This implies that existing statistics on basic water coverage that are largely based on self-reported water collection times are overestimated. Going forward, we call on water surveillance agencies to collect data on water collection times through observation.