Residents of Agbagorme, a farming community in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region, have no access to potable water, a situation that is very common at other communities in the area.

Another community close to Agbagorme, Godorkope and its environs, also has no access clean drinking water.

Children, as young as five years, trek miles get clean water, risking their lives.

These children, sometimes accompanied by their mothers, cross the busy Accra-Aflao highway in order to access water at a stream.

When they get to the water source – which is usually located at a marshy area – they have to compete with livestock for the water.

A residents recall they have been enduring the situation since the days of their great grandparents.

They are appealing for help from authorities.

A resident told Joy News that where the water source is close to a farmland, chemicals used on the farms pollute the water – posing a threat to the health of members of the community.

The resident also expressed worry about the way children cross the roads.

However, a former Assembly Member of the community, who is currently a sub chief, Togbui Adrawusu II told Joy News although he is not happy about the difficulty residents face to get water, the water bodies are not polluted by chemicals from farms.

According to Torgbui Adrawusu II, the same water bodies have been their main source of drinking water for a very long time but there have not been reports of diseases from drinking the water.

He added that the community cannot do anything to prevent children from crossing the highway, noting that it is the responsibility of parents to prevent their children from crossing the freeway.

Meanwhile, District Chief Executive for the South Tongu District, Samuel Mawuko Eworyi, said the acute water shortage at Agbagome and its environs is due to the current dry season.

He revealed that there are plans to provide the communities with potable drinking water. He however did not give a timeline.