Ghana, a country in West Africa, is renowned for its stunning natural beauty, including a network of significant rivers. These rivers are vital for the country's people, animals, and plants, providing drinking water, supporting agriculture, and sustaining diverse ecosystems.
Map of Ghana showing major rivers.
River Systems and Drainage Basins
Ghana's rivers flow into different areas, known as drainage basins. A drainage basin is like a large bowl where all the rain and smaller streams collect and flow into one main river.
Three main river systems drain the country:
- The Volta River System: This system includes the Oti and Daka rivers, the White and Black Volta rivers, and the Pru, Sene, and Afram rivers. The basin covers 70% of the country's area.
- The Southwestern River System: This comprises the Bia, Tano, Ankobra, and Pra rivers and covers 22% of the country's area.
- The Coastal River System: This includes the Ochi-Nakwa, Ochi Amissah, Ayensu, Densu, and the Tordzie rivers, covering 8% of the country's area.
Major Rivers of Ghana
Here's a closer look at some of the most important rivers in Ghana:
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Volta River
The Volta River is the largest river system in Ghana and one of the biggest in West Africa. The Volta is one of West Africa’s largest rivers, draining an area of 390,000 km2. The river with its tributaries covers about 67% of the total land area of Ghana. It is formed from the confluence of the Black Volta and White Volta headstreams. The Volta flows generally southward through Ghana, discharging into the Gulf of Guinea.
Four major tributaries contribute their seasonal floodwaters to the Volta River. The intermittent Red and White Volta Rivers originate in Burkina Faso, meandering across the low elevation (250 m) plateau that slopes slightly southwards. These two rivers merge before joining the Volta. The Black Volta, a permanent river, arises in the highlands southwest of Koudougou, flowing northwards until its junction with the Sourou River.
The Oti River, which flows from the east, is the Volta’s largest tributary, providing 30-40% of its annual flow. A major tributary of the Oti, in turn, is the Pendjari River, which arises from the Atakora Mountains in Benin, forms the border of Benin and Burkina Faso, and eventually merges with the Oti River after entering Ghana.
The Akosombo Dam was completed in the mid-1960s and impounds the Volta River to form Lake Volta, one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. Lake Volta was formed after the Akosombo Dam was completed in 1965. The northern four-fifths of the Volta River’s valley is now covered by Lake Volta, which is one of the world’s largest artificial lakes.
The hydropower capacity of the dam is 912 MW. Lake Volta has a surface area of 8502km2, a maximum depth of 91m and a capacity of 147.96km3.
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Below the damsite, the Volta River turns sharply eastward across the Accra Plains before entering the Atlantic Ocean at Ada. The Volta’s lower course was well-known to Europeans since the time of the 15th-century explorations of the Portuguese, who gave it its name, meaning “turn,” because of its twisting course.
Pra River
The Pra River is one of Ghana's longest rivers. The Pra River is one of Ghana's key river systems, located in the south of the country. It flows through the gold-mining areas in the vicinity of Tarkwa. The Birim River is a major tributary of the Pra.
Ankobra River
The Ankobra River is known for its beautiful scenery. The Ankobra follows a relatively short and direct course in a southerly direction to enter the gulf just west of Axim.
Tano River
The Tano River is another major river in Ghana. The Tano River takes its source from a lagoon in the southeast corner of Côte d'Ivoire. The river flows irregularly westward to the Côte d'Ivoire border.
Other Notable Rivers
- Bia River: An important river in western Ghana.
- Ayensu River: A smaller but important river that flows towards the coast.
- Densu River: A key water source for Ghana's capital city, Accra.
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Water Use and Quality
The main consumptive water uses in Ghana are for municipal, industrial and irrigation purposes. In 2000, about 652 million m3 were withdrawn for irrigation (66 per cent), 235 million m3 for municipalities (24 per cent) and 95 million m3 for the industry (10 per cent), giving a total water withdrawal of 982 million m3.
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The combined withdrawal for municipalities and industry is 95 million m3 for rural and 235 million m3 for urban areas. Current water use for hydro-electricity generation (only at the Akosombo Dam), which is non-consumptive water use, is 37.843 km3/yr.
The sources of water supply in the country are surface water and groundwater. Groundwater is usually abstracted from boreholes for most rural areas. Some borehole supplies are also tapped to supplement urban water supplies.
Water quality in the country is generally good, especially for irrigation purposes, and the impact of irrigation on water quality is not significant, probably because of the limited extent of irrigation.
However, there are isolated problems associated with pollution not necessarily related to irrigation directly, but from general agricultural practice. Mining is predominant in the southwestern river system and in this area pollution of surface water and groundwater has been observed because of the use of cyanide and other poisonous chemicals.
Wetlands in Ghana
Wetlands constitute about 10 per cent of Ghana’s total land area. The three main types of wetlands are: i) marine/coastal wetlands; ii) inland wetlands; and iii) human-made wetlands.
Wetlands in Ghana are very productive and their resources have been traditionally used by local populations as a source of the basic necessities of life, ranging from building materials and hunting and fishing areas, to sources of water for humans and livestock.
Ghana is a signatory to the Ramsar Convention and there are five Ramsar sites of international importance in the country: i) Densu delta; ii) Songor; iii) Keta complex; iv) MuniPomadze; v) Sakumo lagoons.
Some wetlands, which fall outside the conserved wetland areas, are subject to traditional conservation practices such as the rivers Ankobra and Pra.
Lakes in Ghana
The two most important lakes in the country are Lake Volta and Lake Bosomtwi in the Ashanti region.
- Lake Bosomtwe: It is the only natural lake in Ghana. It is located near Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. There are about thirty (30) villages near the lake with a combined population of about 70,000 people.
There are a number of dams and ponds in Ghana. These include the Akosombo Dam and Kpong Dam. Other smaller ones are the Dawhenya Dam, The Tono and Vea Dams.
Map of Ghana showing Akosombo and Kpong Dams on Volta River.
Water Resources
Ghana’s total actual renewable water resources are estimated to be 53.2km3/year, of which 30.3km3/year are internally produced.
Internally produced surface water amounts to 29km3/year, while groundwater is estimated at 26.3km3/year.
| Water Resource Type | Amount (km3/year) |
|---|---|
| Total Renewable Water Resources | 53.2 |
| Internally Produced Water | 30.3 |
| Surface Water | 29.0 |
| Groundwater | 26.3 |
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