Climate change raises cost of water production in Ghana

By Justice Lee Adoboe
As government of Ghana seeks to achieve universal water coverage in 2025, economic activities around sources of raw water in the country have been causing an increase in the pollution rate of these water bodies.
Some of these economic activities including unorthodox fishing methods, traditional farming methods illegal lumbering and stone quarrying which also trigger Climate Change impose a high cost of production the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).
Manuel Tetteh, Water Quality Assurance Officer of the GWCL in Ashanti Region said some of these activities continuously pollute River Offing and other tributaries that feed into the Barekese Dam, near Kumasi, 268 km north of the capital.
In addition to these factors, Tetteh listed illegal mining popularly referred to as “Galamsey” as a major cause of pollution of the Oda River near Obuasi 270 km north-east of the capital and River Anunu in Konongo.
The official made this known to a group Of Water, Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) sector stakeholders including the Parliamentary Select Committee on Water Resources, Works and Housing at Barekese.
The group which included the Ghana Watsan Journalists Network (GWJN) had been in a five-day WASH Governance Workshop organized by the West Africa (WA) WASH under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Some of these activities expose water bodies to the sunshine, causing up to 25 percent reduction in the volume of water in these water sources, while siltation also increases the coloring of the raw water sources, while sealing up some of them.
“We have to keep increasing the volume of chemicals we use in treating water, due to the heavy coloring of the raw water from these rivers as a result of such activities,” the official disclosed.
The burning of weeded farmlands around the banks of these rivers make running water during raining season drive ashes and silt into the rivers, while exposing the rivers also to the hot sunshine, causing both coloring and reduction in the volumes of water in these water bodies.
In addition to that the running water also carries remains of chemical fertilizers used on farms into the water bodies, thus increasing the nutrient levels of the water.
According to Tetteh the cost of TREATMENT FOR every cubic meter of water treated, 0.45 Ghana cedis or 0.140 U.S dollars, with 60 percent of the cost being covering chemical use.
“In Barekese, the Hazen Unit (HU) of water in the 30 million gallons of water Barekese Dam is about 200, that of raw water in Obuasi and Konongo areas is over 5,000 HU.
To deal with this phenomenon, GWCL teams up with the Water Resources Commission (WRC) to sensitize these communities, as well as seek assistance from the security services to prevent such pollution activities in the catchment areas.
Lakhdar Boukerrou, Regional Director for the WA-WASH for Ghana, Niger and Burkina Faso urged governments in the sub-region to introduce Climate Change mitigation measures that would ensure sustainability of water production.
“The problem in West Africa is not the lack of water resources, but the lack of proper management,” he told Xinhua in an interview. Enditem

Livelihoods causing increasing water treatment cost in Ashanti Region of Ghana

story By Gifty Amofa,Kumasi

The cost of water production by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in Ashanti Region keeps increasing daily an official said here on Wednesday.
This is due to economic and social activities by people living in communities in the catchment areas of the major sources of raw water for treatment in the region.
Mr. Manuel Tetteh, Water Quality Assurance Officer of the GWCL in the region said farming activities, fishing and illegal lumbering constituted the major sources of pollution of the River Offing and other tributaries that feed into the Barekese Dam.
He disclosed these when a group Of Water, Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) sector players together with the Parliamentary Committee on Water Resources , Works and Housing, Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), state actors and members of the Ghana Watsan Journalists Network (GWJN) embarked on a familiarization tour of the Barekese Dam and its catchment areas to learn at first-hand the nature of water production in the region.
The trip was part of a four-day workshop on WASH Governance organized by the West Africa (WA) WASH under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
“The pollution compels the water company to keep increasing the volumes of chemicals used in purifying the water,” Mr. Tetteh said.
According to him, the slashing and burning of bushes annually for farming purposes around the catchment areas expose the water bodies to the vagaries of the sunshine, which affects the quality of the water.
Another factor is that with the burning of bushes, running water during rainfall transports the ashes directly into these water bodies. The running water also carries biocides (chemical fertilizers) used on farms into the water bodies, thus increasing the nutrient levels of the water, added the official.
He explained that this creates the need for increased chemical use in water production which brings about the increasing cost of water production.
Mr. Tetteh said per every cubic metre of water treated, GHc 0.15 is spent, with the cost of chemicals constituting 60 percent.
Compared to the Barekese catchment area where the water has a 200 Hounsfield unit (HU) the Konongo and Obuasi areas have over 5000 HU in the water, due mainly to illegal mining activities, heightening the need for chemical use by the water company in its water production.
While Ghana seeks to achieve a universal coverage of clean water supply to citizens by 2025, the cost of water production due to water pollution threatens the achievement of this target, except at a higher cost.
The water company, according to Tetteh keeps sensitising communities in the catchment areas of the water bodies to desist from such bad activities which threaten sustainable water delivery in the country.
The Water Resources Commission (WRC) in Ashanti Region has drawn out and is implementing a programme of community involvement in the protection of the water bodies in the face of the growing incidence of Climate Change.
Mrs. Abena Dufie Wiredu Bremang, the Pra Basin Officer of the WRC said this programme has been making some impact Penten, one of the closest communities to the Offing River, near Kodie in the Kwabre East District.
Nana Attah Kofi, Regent of Penten said his community had embraced the program to protect the water body because they believe the pollution would eventually affect sustainable water delivery to them.
“It is our own future we are fighting for: and so we have given the programme our full backing, and are ready to sanction anyone who flouts directives concerning water pollution.

Urban slum compounding Ghana’s open defecation menace

Ghana has a long way to go in achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, a senior public official cautioned here on Monday.
This is because, urban slums, unlike rural areas lack toilet facilities for households, making people defecate in drains around these slums while others also defecate in open spaces.
Theodora Adomako-Adjei, Extension Services Coordinator for the Communoty Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) made these observations when she addressed a national sanitation discussion and debate organized here to find effective ways of dealing with Ghana’s sanitation challenges.
The forum WAS organized by Multi-Media Broadcasting, a leading Ghanaian media house in conjunction with STAR (Strengthening Transparency, Accountability and Responsiveness in Ghana )the umbrella body of some Ghana’s Development Partners including Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), European Union (EU) United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and United Kingdom Agency for International Development (UK-AID).
“To stop open defecation, people must have access to descent toilets in their homes, schools or work places,” the official stressed.
She lamented the practice of people especially urban slum dwellers defecate in polythene bags and then throw them into open drains, in litter bins or open spaces which creates nuisance and health hazards for other members if the community.
This phenomenon which has assumed common name “flying toilets” in Ghana often happens at dawn when people stand afar off and throw their human excrement into open drains, with passers-by risking being hit by the “shit-bombs”.
Another practice is when people store their household excrement waiting for rains to come so they pour the yellow liquid waste into drains to be washed away.
A public Health Practioner and Water and Sanitation Consultant, Dr. Mark Tettey pointed out that the recent cholera outbreak in the country was the result of bad sanitation practices.
“Accra alone recorded 20,000 cholera cases between June and December 2014with varying statistics from other regions across the country.
“Cholera is a public health issue and this is because most of our households lack toilets facilities and so resort to open defecation,” Dr. Tetteh observed.
He lamented that most vegetables grown in urban areas are irrigated with water from drains that are highly contaminated with fecal matter.
Dr. Tetteh urged sector players to take holistic action to deal with the sanitation menace so as to reduce the disease burden of the country.
Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Julius Debrah urged the private sector and Non Governmental Organizations to continue supporting government’s efforts in dealing with the sanitation menace.
“Sanitation is a shared responsibility, and so your contributions are highly appreciated and we should continue mobilizing communities to help deal with waste,” Debrah urged.

By Justice Lee Adoboe