Women at Gwira-Dominasi in the Nzema East Municipality of the Western Region are struggling over the lack of potable water for their domestic and commercial chores.
They said the only source of water in the community was the River Ankobra, which had been heavily polluted because of illegal mining activities, popularly known as ‘galamsey’ around that enclave.
According to them, they spent a lot of money to purchase aluminum sulfate to treat water fetched from the polluted river before using it to cook.
The situation, they said, posed a serious threat to sanitation and hygiene practices, and ultimately the health needs of community members.
Madam Efya Racheal Williams, a resident, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that the only borehole in the area had broken down for some time now, resulting in the water challenge.
‘Our borehole has broken down for a period of time now, so we have no option than to rely on the dirty water from the river Ankobra for our homes and food vending businesses.’
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f the issue was not resolved, it could bring health complications to the residents as they kept consuming harmful chemicals used in the galamsey operations, she said.
Madam Williams, therefore, appealed to the authorities to urgently take steps to provide a robust water supply system for the community to help reduce the burden on residents in search of clean water.
‘We are appealing to our leaders to come to our aid and provide a source of clean water for us, because we struggle to even buy the alum to purify the polluted water from the Ankobra river,’ she added.
Meanwhile, a source at the Western Regional Office of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) said records showed that the community had a water system to supply residents with clean water.
It said the community leadership was responsible for the management of the system in the area, which broke down.
However, the office would initiate plans to repair the system to serve its intended purpose.
Source: Ghana News Agency