The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), has said it is still unable to open the Kyebi Water Treatment Plant months after its closure due to high turbidity of the water.
The plant was shut down in August this year because activities of illegal gold miners had left the natural water bodies not treatable for onward distribution.
According to the Public Relations officer of GWCL, Stanley Martey, the company’s recent assessment showed that there has not been any improvement in the situation as the water remains turbid.
He said, “we have been monitoring the turbidity of the water over the period and unfortunately, it has still not reduced. The turbidity is still very high so the plant is still unable treat the water so we still haven’t opened it.”
“We are still monitoring the quality of the water so that in case there is any improvement, we will put the plant in operation immediately.”
Mr. Martey lamented the water bodies have been badly polluted by the activities of illegal miners, to the extent that it cannot be properly treated.
“We can only add chemicals after we have extracted the water to the treatment plant, so that we could reduce it [the pollution]. Unfortunately, it has gone so high that even when you extract, we are unable to use the chemicals to reduce it.”
Illegal mining activities over the Birim River has forced the closure of the Kyebi water treatment plant, taking a severe toll on residents who depend on it as their sole source of potable water.
The Member of Parliament for the Abuakwa South constituency in the Eastern Region, Samuel Atta Akyea, in a recent Citi News interview said residents in the area are suffering as a result of the closure, and thus need government’s intervention to provide an alternative source of potable water.
He said, “They should come to the aid of the community by giving them boreholes, as many as they can, given the fact that the President could not prevent the messing up of the River which was helping about a fifth of the Eastern Region.”
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
