The Managing Director of Ghana Water Limited (GWL), Adam Mutawakilu, has unveiled a detailed proposal aimed at tackling the increasing menace of illegal mining, commonly referred to as galamsey, which poses a significant risk to the nation’s water treatment infrastructure.
This initiative represents a proactive approach to mitigating the damage inflicted by siltation and pollution in key water bodies. During a press briefing held in Accra on Monday, October 20, Mutawakilu presented a focused 24-month catchment recovery strategy that targets eight essential river bodies supplying GWL’s treatment facilities nationwide.
“We are advocating for an upstream solution, a collaborative 24-month catchment recovery initiative centered on eight priority river bodies that feed our plants,” he stated. “The strategy integrates riverbank stabilization and revegetation at erosion-prone areas, targeted dredging based on surveys around intake channels, and coordinated land use compliance along with community involvement to safeguard riparian buffers.”
GWL asserts that this initiative is not only environmentally critical but also economically viable. Mutawakilu clarified that the plan aims to restore the water abstraction capacity of the impacted plants, alleviate treatment challenges, and ultimately lower costs.
“While this approach is financially prudent, targeted upstream actions will enhance abstraction capacity, mitigate treatment issues, decrease specific energy consumption per cubic meter, and prolong asset lifespan by reducing corrosive wear,” he remarked.
He further stressed that the proposed actions would transition the company from a reactive crisis management approach to a more stable and cost-efficient system.
“In straightforward terms, we transform recurring emergencies into planned, high-yield interventions that stabilize production and realign the unit cost curve towards baseline levels,” he concluded.
