Conserve water for sustainable use — Water stakeholders

The Ministry of Works, Housing and Water Resources has collaborated with its agencies, the Ghana Water Limited (GWL) and the Water Resources Commission, to mark this year’s World Water Day, with a call for all to take deliberate steps to conserve water to ensure the sustainable use of the country’s water resources.

The collective action to conserve water resources, the speakers said, would also ensure the restoration of polluted water bodies.

The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Works, Housing and Water Resources, Gizella Tetteh Agbotui, underscored the need for strategies to promote fair use of water resources, leading to the conservation of water bodies.

She also called for a collective effort to ensure that all citizens had equal access to clean water to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Six of clean water and sanitation for all.

The acting Managing Director of Ghana Water Limited (GWL), Adam Mutawakilu,  highlighted the strain on the country’s resources due to rapid urbanisation, pollution and climate change, reiterating that illegal mining and waste disposal were major contributors to water pollution, which increased treatment costs.

However, he said the GWL was taking steps to improve water access and efficiency by working on expanding production capacity and modernising infrastructure to reduce water loss.

Mr Mutawakilu said GWL was collaborating with stakeholders to enforce laws against pollution and promote community education on water conservation.

Speaking at a related programme at the Weija Water Treatment Plant in Accra to commemorate the day, the Regional Chief Manager of Accra Tema Metropolitan Area (ATMA) Production, Charles Tulashie, stressed the urgent need to protect freshwater sources such as rivers and streams.

He emphasised that the country’s economic development heavily depended on water for domestic, industrial, agricultural and recreational purposes.

However, he warned that urbanisation, pollution of rivers, deforestation, population growth and climate change posed great challenges to the sustainable management of the country’s water resources.

“Rivers such as the Volta, Pra, Densu, Birim and Ankobra are some of Ghana's major water sources. However, practices such as illegal mining (galamsey), indiscriminate waste disposal, farming close to river bodies and inefficient water use negatively affect the quality and quantity of our resources,” Mr Tulashie said.

Mr Tulashie called for strategic interventions to close the gap between water demand and supply which threatened public health, agriculture and overall economic development.

Drifted

The acting Executive Secretary of the Water Resources Commission, Dr Bob Alfa, indicated that the country had unfortunately drifted from the status of a well-endowed water resource country to a vulnerable country related to water.

“Water resources per capita in Ghana right now is 1,700 cubic meters per year. This is well below the minimum threshold per capita of 1,900 cubic meters per year,” he said.

Dr Alfa attributed the drift to the combined effects of climate change and pollution of water bodies as a result of illegal mining.

“Currently, the turbidity levels of our southwestern river basin system range between 5,000 and 12,000 cubic meters. High levels of chemicals such as cyanide, methane and other pollutants have been found at very high levels on our surface,” he said.

World Water Day

World Water Day is observed annually on March 22 to draw global attention to the need for freshwater conservation. The theme for this year’s global celebration is “Glacier Preservation”, but Ghana has chosen to focus on “Water Conservation”.

As part of activities to mark the day, students from Accra Girls Senior High School (SHS) were sent on a facility visit to the Weija Water Treatment Plant for them to familiarise themselves with the process of water treatment — from raw water abstraction to the final treated water that reaches homes.

The tour educated the students on the role they can play in raising awareness about harmful practices that threaten water conservation efforts.