Cecelia Abena Dapaah, Sanitation Minister
The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecelia Abena Dapaah, has cautioned people against the activities of illegal mining along the catchment areas of Weija and Densu rivers, which is affecting operations of the Weija water treatment plant.
She has therefore ordered activities to be stopped with immediate effect, and accordingly tasked security/military forces stationed at the Headworks to stop all trucks moving there to cart sand.
“If these trucks are stopped, such nefarious acts cannot be perpetrated,” she added.
The Minister disclosed that government is looking for funding to rehabilitate and expand the treatment plant to take care of population growth for the next 20 to 25 years, warning that “if sand winning activities continue, there will be no land left for future expansion”.
Mrs Dapaah was leading a delegation from the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to tour the water treatment plants at Weija, in Accra, and Nsawam, in the Eastern region. Also among the delegation were officials of the Ministry, Managing Director of GWCL, Dr Clifford Abdallah Braimah, and some other staff of the water company.
The purpose was to monitor operations in ensuring effective water production for domestic and industrial use, particularly as the lean season arrives. It was also to further investigate ongoing human activities in the buffer zones.
She was briefed on the current levels of the raw water source, and informed that due to the dry season, the water level of Densu River had gone down below the minimum abstraction level.
The plant operators told the Minister that the minimum abstraction level of the plant is 2.3 meters. However, as at February 13, 2022, the level was at 1.3 meters, compelling the water company to shut down for lack of water.
According to GWCL staff at Nsawam, the recent rains upstream fortunately caused water levels to increase to 2.3 meters to be enough for operational activities on the plant.
Caution
Mrs Dapaah, interacting with the media, cautioned inhabitants to desist from engaging in land clearing and farming activities along the buffer zones.
Such activities, she warned, could lead to siltation if not curtailed. This is because loose soil is washed into the water source as a result, thus leaving small amounts of water for treatment, forcing the GWCL to use more chemicals in the treatment process. She said that makes the cost of production of water very high, and eventually impacts on our tariffs.
The Minister indicated that every water source or river should be given a 100-meter buffer on both sides, which will allow for trees to be planted, as a means of providing shade for the raw water source. “Without vegetation in the buffer zones, water sources are likely to dry up due to siltation and exposure to the sun, which causes high rate of evaporation, hence the need for these demarcations,” she stated.
To protect water sources, she said, the Ministry will collaborate with the Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources for seedlings to be planted around demarcated areas owned by Ghana Water Company Limited and buffer zones for water bodies.
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