What has been reported, and what tenants should ask.
For many tenants in Tamale, the question is not only how much the room costs, but whether there will be water in the tap. Water shortages in Tamale and the nearby town of Sagnarigu have been reported for years, and in 2026 they were still being discussed at the highest level of government. This guide sets out what has been reported, what it has meant for households, and what that means for anyone renting in Tamale.
This guide is general information only, gathered from news reports and an editorial. Conditions differ from one community to another and change through the year, so always ask people who live near the room you are considering.
February 2024. The Daily Graphic toured communities around Tamale and Sagnarigu and found residents in places including Fuo, Kukuo, Chanshegu, Kpawomo, Dugyili, Taha, Koblimahigu, Jakarayili, Zujung, and Dohini struggling for water. Residents fetched water from dams and dugouts, sometimes alongside animals, carried yellow gallons by motorbike, tricycle, and bicycle, and queued for hours for tanker water. At the time, untreated water from private tankers cost about GH₵5 a drum, borehole water about GH₵3 a yellow gallon, and a full tanker about GH₵300 to GH₵350. The reported effects included health risks, late arrival at work and school, and a shea butter business that collapsed because clean water was not available. Ghana Water blamed population growth, said production could no longer meet demand, and was rationing supply. The report also named sand mining at the Dalun water treatment plant as a cause.
March 2024. A Daily Graphic editorial called the shortage perennial and said successive governments had offered stopgap measures instead of a lasting fix. The same month, Ghana Water said it would drill and mechanise boreholes as a temporary measure, replace treatment machines, and dredge the River Dakar that serves Yendi, while the larger Tamale and Yendi projects had been delayed by the country's economic challenges.
April 2026. At a sod cutting event in Kukuo, Tamale, the President announced that the Tamale water project would be funded from domestic resources after a European Union loan for water projects in Tamale and Damongo was withdrawn. The report gave the daily demand as about 100,000 cubic metres, with Ghana Water meeting about a third, and a system built in 1972 for about 50,000 people for a city that the 2021 census counted at 374,744. It said rationing had worsened, some communities went months without water, and residents had protested at Ghana Water offices.
June 2026. Ghana Water told the Northern Regional Coordinating Council that the Bupe Tamale Yendi project, valued at €312 million and meant to deliver about 30 million gallons a day, had secured €106 million to start, but that an environmental and social impact assessment had not yet been completed and no start date was given. Meanwhile, ageing parts at the existing plant were being replaced to raise production.
The honest reading is that a lasting fix is not close, and the reports give no completion date. A new project may take years, so a room that depends on the public supply today may still depend on it for a long time. That makes water arrangements the most important thing to check, ahead of paint, tiles, or the size of the room.
Ask about the dry months. The north has one long rainy season from about April to October, and the dry months are when shortages hurt most. If you view a room in the rains, the taps may tell you very little about the other half of the year.
Ask what the neighbours do. If they buy water, ask how often and from whom. The 2024 prices above are old, but they show the scale: at GH₵3 a yellow gallon, ten gallons cost GH₵30, so a household that depends on boreholes for drinking and cooking can spend a meaningful share of its income on water.
Ask about a tank or a borehole. A storage tank lets you collect water when it flows. A borehole can help, but its water should be tested, as our guide on water shortages and renting explains.
Residents quoted in 2024 reported drinking untreated water because they had no means of treating it, and the report listed health risks among the effects. If you cannot be sure that the water you collect is safe, ask a local health or water authority how to treat it, and do not guess. Store water in clean, covered containers and keep them clean.
Include a realistic monthly cost for buying water when you compare rooms, and ask the landlord in writing who pays for water when the public supply is off. If a room is cheap because it has no reliable water, that may be a fair trade for some tenants, but it should be a choice you make with your eyes open. Put the water arrangement in your tenancy agreement, and read our guide on the utilities for the other questions to ask.
For rent levels, advances, and flooding in Tamale, see our Tamale renting guide.
Graphic Online, Tamale and Sagnarigu suffer acute water shortage, February 2024
Graphic Online editorial, Fix Tamale water challenges, March 2024
Graphic Online, GWCL takes steps to resolve Tamale and Yendi water crisis, March 2024
Graphic Online, Mahama directs local funding for Tamale water project, April 2026
Information Services Department, Tamale gets immediate water relief, June 2026
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