Galamsey: Aerial video of water pollution, destruction alarming

Ghana has no problem with water sources. Rivers are among the most important sources of fresh water in the country.

However, contaminating the rivers will not only harm humans but also the aquatic ecosystems.

Potable water sources are diminishing at such a fast rate that the country faces a looming water crisis by the year 2030 if conditions continue to persist.

Water Research Institute (WRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research has warned that about 60% of Ghana’s water bodies are polluted, with many in critical condition

Pollution of rivers like Pra, Birim, and Ankobra has reached unprecedented levels due to illegal mining activities in those areas.

What should alarm all Ghanaians is the projection that treatable water sources, either surface or groundwater may be very scarce to find by 2030, should the rate at which the country’s water sources are being polluted continue.

The alarming rate of pollution of the country’s water sources is plunging the country into a severe water crisis that could make Ghana a Sahelian country in the not-too-distant future.

Illegal mining activities are one of the very major causes as far as river pollution is concerned.

Many rivers in Ghana such as the Pra River, Birim River, and River Ankobra get polluted the most due to the illegal mining activities in those areas.

The government has made many attempts to control the situation but these are yet to make a significant mark in those mining communities.

The end result is that these illegal mining activities end up polluting the water bodies which serve as the primary source of portable drinking water for the people.

Today, the colors of some major rivers have turned brown but sadly, galamseyers are still polluting the rivers with abundance recklessness.

Rafts with their pumps are still submerged for the mining of gold ore in these rivers.

In some of the worst scenarios, the activities of illegal miners happen right inside the water bodies in the full glare of the public.

That is the operators build their structures in the middle of the rivers.

It is noticed as one of the most challenging threats associated with the mining of sulphide-rich mineral deposits and as such seen to be responsible for water contamination in many mining areas.