The Managing Director of Ghana Water Limited (GWL), Adam Mutawakilu, has said that farming along riverbanks, sand mining, and construction within buffer zones are seriously affecting the quality of raw water across the country and the company’s operations.
He explained that these human activities had led to heavy siltation in many dams and water bodies, making it increasingly difficult and costly for the company to treat water for public consumption.
“The problem goes beyond illegal mining. In some regions where there is no galamsey, we are still experiencing siltation because farming and construction works are eroding the surface of the soil. When it rains, the sand is washed into our water sources," he said.
A buffer zone is a stretch of protected land with trees or vegetation left along rivers, streams or dams to protect them from pollution and erosion.
It helps to stop sand, waste and chemicals from washing into the water and keeps the banks from collapsing.
Addressing the press last Monday, Mr Mutawakilu further said the situation was worsening due to the loss of buffer zones and poor enforcement of environmental regulations.
He pointed out that many people did not realise how sensitive water treatment plants were to construction and human activity around intake points.
“I was at one of our treatment plants recently, and you could see how construction and even vibrations from sound waves nearby are affecting operations.
In the Upper West Region, we are facing similar challenges. It is not always about galamsey. It’s also about how people are using the land,” he said.
Mr Mutawakilu cited the Bontanga Dam in the Northern Region as a key example, noting that as of 2022, an estimated six million cubic feet of silt had accumulated there, affecting water quality and treatment operations.
Operational cost
He said such levels of siltation not only reduce the storage capacity of dams but also increase the volume of chemicals required to treat water, thereby driving up operational costs.
“Our treatment plants are struggling because of the poor quality of raw water.
The cost of chemicals keeps rising, and sometimes, we have to halt operations when the turbidity levels are too high,” he stated.
Mr Mutawakilu, therefore, called for a coordinated national effort to address the root causes of water pollution and degradation, stressing that Ghana could not rely on short-term fixes.
“The entire country must work together on this.
We must move from emergency management to sustainable actions if we want to ensure safe and reliable water for all,” he added.
He also addressed growing calls for the government to declare a state of emergency over the destruction of water bodies, saying that while such a move might draw attention to the crisis, it could not be a permanent measure.
“We can’t have a state of emergency forever.
The question we must ask is, what measures can we put in place to make sure the solutions are sustained?
We must take pragmatic steps to secure our water sources for the future," he said.
