We cannot afford to destroy our water bodies

The global community, yesterday, Thursday, March 22, commemorated World Water Day to remind humanity of the importance of water to the sustenance of life.

The day was marked in Ghana on the global theme: “Nature for water” to highlight the natural ways of conserving and protecting our water sources, such as creating buffer zones with trees around them.

With “The answer is in nature” as the campaign message for this year’s commemoration, the theme also drew attention to the need to prevent further damage to ecosystems and the aquatic environment.

Sadly, human activities such as illegal mining have already destroyed most of our water bodies and the about 30 million Ghanaians now have to share the little that is left of our water.

All the water treatment plants of the Ghana Water Company Limited in the Eastern Region have experienced shutdowns because of the heavy pollution of the Birim River which feeds them.

With little knowledge of the relevance of wetlands, mangroves, flood plains and watersheds to the ecosystem, many developers continue to destroy them, thinking that they are reclaiming unsuitable land (waterlogged) for buildings and other developments.

Even our lagoons, such as Chemu, Kpeshie and Korle in Accra, which boasted aquatic life some years ago have not been spared. They have been so polluted by individuals and industries that they are now dead.

Buildings and other developments have been carried out on watercourses, thereby breaking their natural flow and causing them to dry up.

We cannot continue to act irresponsibly towards our environment by throwing rubbish into drains and our industrial waste or faecal matter into water bodies.

The Odaw River (drain) in Accra is one of the many water channels in the country that have suffered serious abuse from people, and instead of its original plan of adding to the beauty of the city as it runs through it, it has become an apology and indication of poor water resource management.

Elsewhere, such rivers or drains that run through cities have become tourist attractions, with boats running on them, especially at night, and much revenue made by city authorities from the sale of tickets.

We can no longer, as a people, stand aloof and watch all that is left of our water become polluted, as that will spell doom for all of us.

Indeed, without water, there is no life, no health and no development. From birth to death, mankind is dependent on the cherished resource called water, of which only one per cent of the 70 per cent that covers the earth is available for human use.

There is also only three per cent of fresh water globally, while the remaining 97 per cent is salt water, which is why we must all learn how to use water very judiciously, collect rainwater, as it is a socially responsible way to use a natural resource, and also refrain from polluting what is left of our water resource.

Even our ground water is becoming polluted through our wanton destruction of the environment and the improper disposal of liquid pollutants.

The Daily Graphic believes that time is long overdue to put in place drastic measures and far-reaching policies to make people more responsible and protect what is left of our water resource.