Kwabena Biritwum Nyarko
72 Publications30 Research Themes45 Open Access
Research Overview & Focus
The researcher has conducted extensive studies across a wide range of scientific and social sciences, focusing on environmental pollution in the environment, mining practices in resource management, child nutrition and water access issues, and other critical areas such as urban solid waste management, poverty reduction, and vaccination coverage. Their work emphasizes innovative approaches to address challenges related to water quality, sanitation systems, and public health. By integrating findings from these diverse fields, the researcher has developed a comprehensive framework for sustainable development and environmental management across Ghana and beyond.
Faculty Biography
Kwabena Biritwum Nyarko is a Professor at the Civil Engineering Department of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. He has 30 years of teaching and research experience in Water and Sanitation. His research focuses on water transport and distribution, sanitation technologies, and sustainable water and sanitation service delivery. He is the Provost of the College of Engineering at KNUST and a valued member of the Regional Water and Sanitation Centre, Kumasi (RWESCK). He serves on the Board of the Engineering Council of Ghana and is a Council member of the Ghana Institution of Engineers.He is leading the KNUST component of the five-year Rural Evidence and Learning for Water (REAL Water) project led by Aquaya Institute in the US and funded by USAID, focused on evaluating strategies for expanding access to safe and sustainable rural water across the developing world. He was the Project Lead for the KNUST Engineering Education Project (KEEP), one of the leading World Bank ACE centres (out of 53 in West Africa), focusing on expanding access to high-quality postgraduate engineering programmes at the College of Engineering, KNUST. Prof Nyarko has over one hundred (100) publications in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, working papers, book chapters, technical reports and briefing notes.
Key Research Themes (30)
Physical Sciences
Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Production
Health Sciences
Child Nutrition and Water Access
Physical Sciences
Climate Change and Sustainable Development
Physical Sciences
Coagulation and Flocculation Studies
Life Sciences
Composting and Vermicomposting Techniques
Physical Sciences
Energy and Environment Impacts
Physical Sciences
Enhanced Oil Recovery Techniques
Physical Sciences
Environmental Education and Sustainability
Physical Sciences
Heavy metals in environment
Health Sciences
Homelessness and Social Issues
Social Sciences
Innovation and Socioeconomic Development
Social Sciences
Life Cycle Costing Analysis
Life Sciences
Livestock and Poultry Management
Health Sciences
Menstrual Health and Disorders
Physical Sciences
Mining and Resource Management
Physical Sciences
Municipal Solid Waste Management
Social Sciences
Natural Resources and Economic Development
Health Sciences
Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections
Social Sciences
Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
Social Sciences
Public-Private Partnership Projects
Social Sciences
Taxation and Compliance Studies
Social Sciences
Transboundary Water Resource Management
Social Sciences
Urban and Rural Development Challenges
Social Sciences
Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
Physical Sciences
Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
Social Sciences
Water Governance and Infrastructure
Physical Sciences
Water Quality and Pollution Assessment
Physical Sciences
Water resources management and optimization
Physical Sciences
Water Systems and Optimization
Health Sciences
Zoonotic diseases and public health
Publications (72)
Nurturing care group approach for improving animal faeces management in Ghana
Open AccessGreywater Quantities and Qualities in Low-Income Kumasi, Ghana: Implications for Sustainable Water Management.
Open AccessMapping the role of vaccines in combating AMR in the WHO African region: a scoping review and implications for research and policy
Open AccessReflections on 50 years of immunisation programmes in the WHO African region: an impetus to build on the progress and address the unfinished immunisation business
Open AccessAchieving universal sanitation in Ghana: An analysis of key drivers of toilet ownership among property owners in Urban areas
Open AccessGhana's water safety journey: A review of efforts toward a risked-based water quality management
Open AccessValidity of a visual analogue scale to measure and value the perceived level of sanitation: evidence from Ghana and Mozambique
Open AccessMenstrual hygiene management improvement in selected communities using nurturing care group approach
Open AccessUnderstanding the suitability of Nurturing Care Group approach to improving animal faeces management in Ghana
Open AccessMissing in action: The UN Water Action Agenda needs an overhauled commitment-setting process
Open AccessMissing in action: The UN Water Action Agenda needs an overhauled commitment-setting process
Open AccessValidity of a visual analogue scale to measure and value perceived level of sanitation – evidence from Ghana and Mozambique
Open AccessDeterminants of Open Defecation Among Rural Women in Ghana: Analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys
Open AccessNavigating Taxpayers Attitude: Exploring Support for Urban Sanitation Surcharge in Kumasi
Open AccessGreywater generation and reuse among residents of low-income urban settlements in the Oforikrom Municipal Assembly, Ghana
Open AccessZeta potential prediction of dominant sandstone minerals via surface complexation modelling
Open AccessGreywater Quantities and Qualities in Low-Income Kumasi, Ghana: Implications for Sustainable Water Management
Open AccessRaw water quality variations and its effect on the water treatment processes
Open AccessOptimizing coagulation–flocculation processes with aluminium coagulation using response surface methods
Open AccessUniversal water service delivery: Insights on what it takes from Ghana
Evaluation of user experiences for the Clean Team Ghana container-based sanitation service in Kumasi, Ghana
Open AccessOnsite treatment of Domestic Greywater using constructed Wetland in Ghana
2021Wastewater Treatment and Reuse
Domestic drinking water management: Quality assessment in Oforikrom municipality, Ghana
Open AccessEvaluation of User Experiences for the Clean Team Ghana Container-Based Sanitation Service in Kumasi, Ghana
Open AccessAssessing policymaker and taxpayer attitudes towards public finance for urban sanitation: the case of sanitation surcharges in two Ghanaian municipalities
Toilet chemical additives and their effect on faecal sludge characteristics
Open AccessDomestic greywater flows and pollutant loads: A neighbourhood study within a university campus in Ghana
Open AccessMercury contamination of soil and water media from different illegal artisanal small-scale gold mining operations (galamsey)
Open AccessAn intervention to address deteriorating water quality: An application of Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior
Early live-prototype testing of a low-cost latrine technology for rural and peri‑urban communities: The case of a modified pour-flush latrine
Open AccessInfluence of illegal artisanal small-scale gold mining operations (galamsey) on oil and grease (O/G) concentrations in three hotspot assemblies of Western Region, Ghana
Wastewater management in urban Bhutan: Assessing the current practices and challenges
Ghana's post-MDGs sanitation situation: an overview
Open AccessThe effectiveness of water resources management in Pra Basin
Greywater in the drains of a sewered community in Ghana
Open AccessCost and effectiveness of water, sanitation and hygiene promotion intervention in Ghana: the case of four communities in the Brong Ahafo region
Open AccessAssessment of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Sediments of the River Pra and Its Tributaries
Open AccessAssessment of heavy metal pollution in the main Pra River and its tributaries in the Pra Basin of Ghana
Rotary drum composter as a low cost method for the removal of Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris Trichiura in faecal sludge compost
Open AccessLand Tenure and Water Sources for Urban Vegetable Farmers in Asante-Mampong, Ghana
Open AccessIndigenous plants for informal greywater treatment and reuse by some households in Ghana
Open AccessSpatial distribution patterns of illegal artisanal small scale gold mining (Galamsey) operations in Ghana: A focus on the Western Region
Open AccessWASH infrastructure and menstrual hygiene management in basic schools: a study in Kumasi, Ghana
Open Access2018Menstrual Health and Disorders
Alternative low-cost latrine option for rural and peri-urban communities
Open Access2018Homelessness and Social Issues
Greywater characterization and handling practices among urban households in Ghana: the case of three communities in Kumasi Metropolis
Open AccessHydraulic Model of District Metered Areas for Leakage Reduction in Ghana Water Company Limited: A Case Study of Dansoman DMA in Accra, Ghana
Open AccessThe Mediating Role of Radical Innovation in the Relationship Between Knowledge Management and Competitive Advantage in Sudanese Manufacturing Firms
2016Natural Resources and Economic Development
Towards sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene technology use in sub-Saharan Africa: the Learning Alliance approach
Open AccessEffect of bulking materials and mixing ratios on concentration of nutrients during composting of raw faecal sludge from peri-urban areas
Incentives for water supply to the urban poor and the role of the regulator in Ghana
Perception of Peri-Urban Farmers on Fecal Sludge Compost and Its Utilization: A Case Study of Three Peri-Urban Communities in Ashanti Region of Ghana
Heavy metals and microbial loads in raw fecal sludge from low income areas of Ashanti Region of Ghana
Partnerships in sanitation service management and infrastructure provision in Kumasi, Ghana
Open Access2015Public-Private Partnership Projects
The cost of urban water service delivery in Ghana: the case of the Kumasi and Accra-Tema water systems
2014Life Cycle Costing Analysis
Faecal sludge management in low income areas: a case study of three districts in the Ashanti region of Ghana
Impacts of variable energy prices on the financial sustainability of water facilities: case from Ghana
Capital maintenance study, the case of water supply systems in selected small towns
Open Access2013Urban and Rural Development Challenges
Ladders for assessing and costing water service delivery
2011Child Nutrition and Water Access
Local authorities, community and Private Operators Partnerships in small towns water service delivery in Ghana
Water conservation potential in educational institutions in developing countries: case study of a university campus in Ghana
Local initiative in community water supply: Case study in Ashanti Region, Ghana
Small town water quality
Water and sanitation in Ghana
Shifting from public shared toilets to home toilets in urban settlements: implications of household demand in Kumasi, Ghana.
Open Access2009Child Nutrition and Water Access
Water supply coping strategies in Accra
Open Access2008Urban and Rural Development Challenges
Self supply schemes for community water supply in Ghana
Open Access2008Child Nutrition and Water Access
Private sector involvement in drinking water supply in Ghana
Drinking Water Sector in Ghana: Drivers for Performance
Open Access2007Child Nutrition and Water Access
Cost recovery of community‐managed piped water systems in Ashanti region, Ghana
Case Study: Ghana.
2005
KNUST experiences in capacity building in the water and sanitation sector
Institutional challenges for small towns’ water supply delivery in Ghana
Academic Metrics
DepartmentDepartment of Civil Engineering
Total Publications72
Research Themes30
Open Access Papers45
Department of Civil Engineering
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology