GHANA is facing a sharp decline in its water resources, with water stress levels dropping from about 1,900 cubic metres per person in 2016 to around 1,500 today.
A loss of 400 cubic meters in less than a decade.
This warning came from Dr Mawuli Lumor, Head of Policy, Planning, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Water Resources Commission (WRC), when he addressed a gathering to mark World Rivers Day in Accra yesterday.
Dr Lumor explained that while the country's renewable water resources remained fairly constant, the growing population and destructive human activities are putting enormous pressure on water availability.
He noted that if urgent action was not taken, Ghana could reach dangerously low levels, forcing government to impose strict limits on individual water use.
"Where we are drifting towards is danger for us," he cautioned, stressing that the situation could require laws restricting how much water each person is allowed to consume.
Dr Lumor further explained that some water treatment plants in the Central Region had to shut down because water levels had become so low that, the pumps could not function, and in other cases, treatment costs had escalated due to pollution.
Illegal mining, poor land use practices, and pollution, he said, were compounding the pressure on Ghana's water systems, saying "Our population is expanding while our water bodies are shrinking."
He pointed out that the declaration of river bodies and forest reserves as security zones was part of government's proactive measures to reverse the decline.
Dr Lumor clarified that water stress referred to the pressure created when demand for water continued to rise, while the available supply remained constant or reduces due to destruction of natural sources.
"If our population continues to grow but we keep destroying the constant water resource we have, the stress becomes unbearable," he said.
Chief of Atwima Kwanwoma and a Board Member of the WRC, Nana Amponsah Kwaa IV, urged citizens to join hands with government in protecting rivers and other natural resources.
He said the responsibility of safeguarding water bodies could not rest on the government alone but must involve communities, traditional leaders, the private sector, and the youth.
Nana Amponsah Kwaa stressed that communities must see themselves as custodians of the rivers that sustain their lives.
He called on traditional leaders to continue enforcing cultural practices that had long preserved the environment, and urged the private sector to adopt responsible practices.
He challenged citizens to make personal commitments, such as reducing plastic waste, planting trees along riverbanks, and refrain from activities that destroy water bodies.
The Chairperson, Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), Dr Beata Awinpoka Akanyani, described rivers as lifelines that feed farms, supply homes and communities, generate power, and sustain biodiversity, but lamented that pollution and illegal mining were posing serious threats to their survival.
According to her, illegal mining had polluted freshwater systems with mercury and heavy metals, putting millions of Ghanaians at risk.
She called for stronger enforcement of environmental laws, community-led monitoring, and the promotion of sustainable livelihoods as alternatives for communities dependent on mining.
BY AGNES OPOKU SARPONG
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