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INTRODUCTION
Greywater contains pollutants and will pose health and environmental risks if not properly treated and disposed of. Meanwhile, large volumes of greywater are generated, accounting for 50-80% of residential wastewater (Roesner et al. 2006; Li et al. 2009; Yu et al. 2013; Oron et al. 2014), with potential reuse benefits. In urban areas, greywater reuse could serve as an alternative water source to ease urban water demand (Yu et al. 2013; Oron et al. 2014) and as a source of nutrients for irrigation (Li et al. 2008; Rodda et al. 2011). Already, increasing urban water demand compounded by climate change is resulting in strategies of finding alternative water sources (Rygaard et al. 2011; Ahmed & Arora 2012; Peloso & Morinville 2014). In Ghana, mostly urban area inhabitants are already experiencing water supply shortages (Peloso & Morinville 2014; Nyarko et al. 2016). Greywater reuse is becoming imperative in water-stressed areas of urban Ghana as in other sub-Saharan African countries (Hyde & Maradza 2013). In the sub-Saharan region and other developing countries, proper greywater management is not given any attention (Morel & Diener 2006; Hyde & Maradza 2013). Available figures from the Ghana Statistical Services indicate the existence of only 1-5% improved greywater disposal practices (GSS 2013a), thus implying huge environmental pollution consequences (Allen et al. 2010). The worst affected environmental component could be water bodies which are the main receivers of untreated wastewater in Ghana (Agyei et al. 2011).
Generally, wastewater including greywater is considered as an asset because of the huge reuse potentials for various purposes, including domestic, industrial and agricultural options (Saravanan et al. 2011; Penn et al. 2013; Tiruneh 2014; Chen et al. 2015). However, there are public health concerns associated with reuse (formal and informal) of greywater because of the presence of contaminants such as pathogens, surfactants, boron, metals, endocrine disrupting compounds and xenobiotics (micropollutants) when the wastewater is not (properly) treated (Janzen et al. 2009; Trojan Technologies 2010; Maimon et al. 2014). Meanwhile, in Ghana there is a dearth of knowledge concerning greywater generation rates, characteristics, and existing treatment and/or reuse practices. This paper therefore describes greywater characterization and household management practices using a case study within three communities of the second largest metropolis in Ghana, Kumasi.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
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