We must ensure groundwater is potable

No month goes by without news of the provision or sinking of a borehole, sometimes mechanised, for a community in need of potable water by a philanthropist, a non-governmental organisation, company or government institution.

This goes to confirm that much as the national potable water coverage is over 80 per cent [Currently, according to the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC) released by the Ghana Statistical Service, 87.7 per cent of the population of the country have access to basic water supply services], there are still a considerable number of people who do not have access to clean drinking water.

About 96.4 per cent of the urban population have access to basic water supply services, while 74.4 per cent of the rural populace have access to basic water supply services.

Nonetheless, about eight per cent of Ghanaian households continue to rely on unsafe sources, the 2021 PHC says.

The figures buttress the fact that the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) is not able to reach every community in the country with pipe-borne water, which deficiency has been further aggravated by the pollution of our water sources through activities such as galamsey.

Water is life and no person or people should be denied this basic necessity.

News of the provision of boreholes is therefore always greeted with joy.

For instance, in 2019 the government took delivery of 1,029 boreholes across the then 10 regions of the country from the China Government.

The China Government, through its China-Aid programme, provided the boreholes in some remote communities under an economic and technical cooperation agreement signed between Ghana and China on December 15, 2015, at a cost of $20 million.

Out of the figure, the Upper East Region received 182; Upper West, eight; Northern, 155; Brong Ahafo, 146; Ashanti, 28; Western, 148; Eastern, 162; Central, 10; Volta, 148 and Greater Accra Region, 13.

Before then, in 2017, at his vetting, the Minister designate for Sanitation and Water Resources, Joseph Kofi Adda, had stated that the government was committed to drilling at least 25,000 boreholes in communities across the country, to deal with the shortfall in the supply of water.

Much as boreholes have over the years proven to be the way out for water-stressed communities, their provision has also been fraught with some challenges such as the abuse of drilling, with many borehole drilling companies springing up by the day and posing the danger of over-concentration which can let the land cave in.

Boreholes depend on groundwater, which means that if the water in the ground is unwholesome or polluted, it affects the water produced.
While there are institutions such as the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Water Resources Commission (WRC) and the Hydrological Services Department (HSD), among others, which play specific roles in ensuring that things are done right with the sinking of boreholes, some excesses have been detected, which put the life of users of boreholes at risk.

The Daily Graphic, therefore, finds it refreshing and timely the advice given by the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Dr Freda Akosua Prempeh, at a press conference recently to owners of mechanised boreholes and wells to have the quality of the water tested, to ensure that the water they used was safe and did not pose any danger to their health.

The minister, who said the call had become necessary because of concerns raised over the safety of groundwater sources due to an increase in its use for both domestic and commercial purposes, also announced an intended exercise by the WRC to test groundwater quality in homes and communities nationwide free of charge.

We urge that the exercise to be piloted in the Adentan and Ga West municipalities in the Greater Accra Region should be carried out without fail or delay, to ensure the safety of the large number of citizens who have to rely on wells and boreholes even in the urban and peri-urban areas.

This is because some boreholes have been sited without appropriate supervision, which means they may be sited where the groundwater is polluted or contaminated with lead, iron and arsenic, among other heavy metals or chemicals such as pesticide, cyanide and mercury in areas where illegal mining is rife.

We also add our voice to the advice to contract only registered companies which are required by law to test samples of the water drilled before consumption.

Above all we urge the citizenry and all institutions responsible for our water to leave nothing to chance in ensuring we all drink only wholesome water from the ground.