Kwanyako: Mr Ekow Panyin Okyere Eduamoah, the Central Regional Minister, has announced a significant drop in the turbidity levels of the Ayensu River at the Kwanyako headworks, restoring continuous water supply to thousands of residents in Swedru and its neighbouring areas. The Kwanyako Water Treatment Plant had been closed due to extremely high turbidity caused by illegal mining activities upstream in the Eastern Region, which resulted in heavy silt and sediment contamination.
According to Ghana News Agency, this closure disrupted water supply to communities in Agona West and East, Gomoa East and West and Awutu Senya East, causing water shortages and hardships. Following a visit to the site on Monday, the Minister, referencing information from Managers of the facility, revealed that turbidity levels had plummeted from 95,000 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) to 200 NTU.
That improvement had allowed many households to have running water again and marked a significant boost in water quality, reducing health risks and environmental damage linked to high turbid water. The Minister credited the success to intensified efforts to crack down on illegal miners along the Ayensu River and recent rains that helped improve the water.
He also highlighted government interventions, including the acquisition of two new water pumps at the Kwanyako Water Treatment Plant. These pumps extracted raw water from the surface instead of six feet below, avoiding much of the silt that had previously affected water supply.
He assured that the progress in water quality would be maintained by continuing to combat illegal mining, which threatened reliable and clean water supply. He said the government remained committed to drilling new boreholes and repairing faulty ones to enhance water availability while protecting water bodies in the Central Region.
The Central Minister urged citizens to support efforts against illegal mining by reporting suspicious activities and cooperating with authorities, saying, 'a collective action is essential to protect water resources and public health.'
