‘Drink water wisely’— agency advises Ghanaians as illegal mining causes supply shortage

Ghana Water Limited (GWL) says efforts are being made to match demands against the current water supply shortage in the country.

In a statement dated October 2, GWL management said the Sekyere Hemang water treatment is currently recording an average of 9,000 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU).

Turbidity, a measure of how clear water is, indicates the presence of suspended particles such as clay, silt, and organic matter, which can harbor pathogens and other harmful substances.

Ideally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard for household consumption of water is less than one NTU and a maximum of five units in cases where it may be difficult to treat.

However, due to persistent illegal gold mining, water sources in Ghana have struggled to sustain purity.

In September, spurts of protests began to erupt in the West African country over as citizens expressed frustration over environmental destruction due to the unchecked illegal mining popularly known as ‘galamsey’.

GWL said the 9,000 NTUs recorded was an improvement from the previous average turbidity of 14,000.

The water agency said the affected communities are within Cape Coast, Elmina, and surrounding areas.

“All customers are kindly advised to use drinking water wisely,” the statement reads.

GWL also said it has stepped up its water production from 1,981,290 gallons per day to 2,773,807 gallons.

The statement added that the Central Regional Security Council is contributing efforts to help improve the situation.