‘Galamsey’ deadly impact on Densu River, EPA demands swift solution

The Densu River, stretching 116 km from the Atiwa Forest to the Weija Dam, is facing severe degradation due to intensified irresponsible mining activities in several communities.

A built-up of illegal mining in areas such as Potrase, Odumase, and Apedwa Obuase within the Abuakwa South Municipality has devastated the vital waterways, which support approximately three million residents from the Akyem area. 

The Densu River, which flows through Potrase, Nankese, Abisim, Apedwa, Nsawam, and Adeiso before emptying into the Weija Dam in Accra, has been severely impacted and transformed into a milky sludge devoid of life, posing a significant threat to both human and aquatic ecosystems. 

From an aerial perspective, during an investigation by the Ghana News Agency, extensive cocoa farmlands have also been devastated while the buffer zone surrounding the Densu River has been obliterated, with illegal miners wreaking havoc across arable land equivalent to 15 football fields, all while operating without accountability.  

The frightening situation has prompted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to demand collaborative action and swift legal reforms to immediately stop the menace, restore the ecosystem, and safeguard human and aquatic life. 

Pointing out on the growing threat in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Koforidua, Mr. Felix Addo Okyireh, the Eastern Regional Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, said that no license would be given to miners to operate close to water bodies. 

He said that his outfit has found that increasing mining activities near the river body tended to remove the vegetative cover of the river, exacerbating the degradation.  

“If the community, chiefs, opinion leaders, non-governmental organisations, and the government don’t take action to stop the galamseyers [illegal miners], eventually we will lose the Densu River entirely,” he said.  

He added: “When the vegetative cover is depleted, we expose the river to the whims of the weather, and if it happens …during the dry season where evaporation becomes high, the river that serves about three million people will eventually dry up, which is why there’s a need for pragmatic actions to stop the menace.” 

Mr. Okyireh stated that combating illegal mining activities was a national security matter, as the illegal miners who destroy arable lands are often fully armed at the sites, while EPA officials are not trained to handle arms or control them.  

He also stated that combating illegal mining activities was a national security matter, as illegal miners who destroy arable lands often fully armed at their sites, while EPA officials are not trained to handle arms or control these gangsters.  

“We haven’t been trained to hold a gun or how to shoot, and because illegal mining is a national security matter and should be addressed as such, if we don’t address it…we will end up losing all our water bodies” he added.    

He noted that the young people involved in illegal mining appear to be impoverished, and cannot even afford to rent an excavator, suggesting that high-profile individuals are behind the galamsey.  

He suggested that the law should be amended to allow for the investigation and prosecution of those financing these illegal activities. 

Mr Okyireh stressed that the continuous excavation of the watershed, bamboos, fauna, and other tree species that protect and provide canopy to the river body has been cut down.  

In a separate interview with the GNA, Mr. Kaba Abakeh, Assistant Basin Officer at the Water Resources Commission in Koforidua, also shared concerns about the Densu River.  

He reported that the turbidity level upstream at Potrase exceeds 1,000 NTU, an indication of significant pollution linked to illegal mining activities. 

He emphasized that illegal miners have altered the Densu River’s natural flow by installing water pumping changfan machines, which significantly contribute to severe pollution. 

He also noted that the Birim River faces even greater pollution problems than the Densu and other water bodies in the Eastern Region. 

At Osino in the Eastern Region, the treatment plant of the Ghana Water Company Limited often struggles to treat and pump water to consumers because illegal mining activities in the Birim River are causing problems, according to company officials. 

To mitigate the impact, Mr. Abakeh noted that the commission is engaging with communities where illegal mining activities are ongoing to sensitize the people about the dangers and devastating effects of their activities on human life and the aquatic ecosystem. 

Several reports indicate that nearly all water bodies in Ghana have been compromised by irresponsible mining activities, which have released harmful chemicals such as chromium, arsenic, lead, and mercury into the environment. These chemicals pose a significant threat to human health. 

Health experts say illegal mining activities have led to an alarming increase in birth defects among newborn babies, attributed to the exposure to these harmful chemicals during the illicit mining process. 

Ghana’s Forestry Commission estimates that approximately 6.6 million hectares of the country’s 8.2 million hectares of forest trees have been depleted over the years due to indiscriminate human activities. 

Currently, the country’s remaining forest cover of 1.6 million hectares is under threat from illegal mining, logging, and other human activities. 

GNA