Urbanization and Water Resources Vulnerability in the Kumasi Metropolitan Area, Ghana

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Most urban areas of developing countries were hitherto experiencing unprecedented growth in their population, the phenomenon commonly referred to as urbanization, which in this study can be said to be the proportion of urban population relative to the total population of a region. This phenomenon has opportunities vis-à-vis challenges, whose impact on natural resources in general and water resources in particular, cannot be over- emphasized. It is within the context of these urban challenges that this study attempts to look into and possibly assess the situation in the urban and peri- urban areas of Kumasi Metropolitan Area (KMA) in Ghana, whose urbanization processes is prejudiced by this study to be increasing rapidly. The study specifically attempted to assess thechanges in the urbanization patterns and the possible future urbanization trend of the area within a specific time frame. The study also attempts to look at the causes of this urbanization, and its impact on water resources in the Area, both qualitatively and quantitatively, envisaged to be the results of socio-economic activities taking place in the Area. Finally, the study attempts to look into the measures put in place to curb these challenges. Amid paucity of data, however, the study reveals that the most single contributor of urbanization processes in the area has been migration from the countryside, and in particular from the northern part of the country. The study also reveals the fact that even though the general quality standard of some water resources is better, the largely uncontrolled socio-economic activities, coupled with the deplorable sanitary conditions in the KMA, has potential to degrade the water resou...