The Ghana Water Limited (GWL) has sounded the alarm on the severe challenges facing the country’s water sector, with climate change emerging as a significant contributor to the crisis.
According to GWL’s Managing Director, Mr. Adam Mutawakilu, climate change, coupled with illegal mining and inadequate infrastructure, has resulted in frequent shutdowns, increased maintenance costs, and reduced water supply reliability.
He further indicated that, climate change has further exacerbated the challenges facing the water sector, leading to increased water scarcity due to the changes in weather patterns which have affected water sources, making it challenging for GWL to maintain a consistent supply.
Furthermore, climate change has led to increased siltation and pollution in rivers, affecting water treatment plants and increasing costs.
Mr. Adam Mutawakilu poibted out that illegal mining activities have also led to significant environmental degradation, causing rivers to become heavily silted and affecting water treatment plants.
This has resulted in higher costs for chemicals and energy, as well as reduced water supply capacity, frequent shutdowns and reduced water supply capacity have affected households, schools, and businesses.
To tackle these challenges, he explained that GWCL proposes a 24-month catchment recovery plan focused on priority river bodies including riverbank stabilization to prevent erosion and reducing siltation, restoration of degraded river catchments, restoring river capacity and improving water flow and coordinated land use compliance and community engagement to Promote sustainable land use practices.
“Ghana Water Limited (GWL) is calling for a partnership with corporate Ghana, development partners, and government agencies to support the catchment recovery plan. The company believes that collective action is necessary to address the water crisis and ensure a sustainable water supply for the country’s economic development”, he appealed.
Meanwhile, he noted that, the company acknowledges the significant steps taken by the government to combat illegal mining and protect the water environment.
He cited the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah’s intensified regulatory enforcement through initiatives such as the Blue Water Guard surveillance operations.
“GWL is committed to recovering lost capacity, reducing treatment losses and chemical dosage, lowering specific energy and unit costs, and stabilizing service to households, schools, health facilities, and businesses. The company believes that protecting the source of water is crucial to ensuring water security and that collective action is necessary to achieve this goal”, he concluded.
By: Ishmael Barfi
Source: www.climatewatchonline.com
