The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has commended the government in its fight against the galamsey menace and says the fight has improved the state of water bodies in certain parts of the country.
GWCL believes if the tempo of the fight is sustained for an extended period, most water bodies in the country will become safe and cost them (GWCL) far less to treat and distribute water to the Ghanaian populace.
READ MORE:Operation Halt: Gov’t has made us enemies to the process – Small Scale Miners
READ MORE: AMA hints of expansion of markets to rid pedestrian walkways of traders
The Communications Director of GWCL, Stanley Martey noted that the recommended turbidity for water is 25 nephelometric turbidity units but their findings in Kyebi for instance proved that the turbidity of water bodies in the area were below 25. “This proves the fight against galamsey is working“, he told Samuel Eshun.
He however admitted that in certain parts of the country, the fight had become difficult as galamseyers play hide and seek with the taskforce. “We went to Bonsu and checked the turbidity of the water in the morning and it was around 1,009 but when we measured again in the afternoon, it had dropped to 330. This means some illegal miners mined in the middle of the night. But if they are stopped, then we will see a vast improvement”.
READ MORE:Accra: ECG announces another 16-day ‘Dumsiesie’
Sharing some challenges faced by the GWCL as a result of illegal mining, Stanley revealed that in some communities miners had diverted the path of water and that prevented them (GWCL) from providing treated water constantly to residents.
Speaking on the Happy Morning Show, Stanley added that because their pumps are designed to treat water at a specified turbidity level, they have experienced challenges in these mining communities. “Because the water from these water sources have now been filled with mud and gravels from galamsey activities, we have to regularly run maintenance every 2 weeks when ordinarily these maintenance exercises are meant to be done every 2 months. And this costs us more to provide potable water to the populace”.
He emphasized that if the fight against galamsey is not sustained, a section of the Ghanaian populace will have to import water. “Our water bodies are being destroyed at a fast pace and we must keep on fixing the situation”.
