Policy to protect riverbanks underway

As part of efforts to help avert continued pollution of water bodies,
government has mandated the Water Resources Commission to develop a Buffer Zone Policy to protect riverbanks.

The Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Hackman
Owusu-Agyemang said the policy would also involve the application of integrated water resource management principles at the basin levels to ensure sustenance of water resource.

In a speech read on his behalf by his Deputy, Mr Christopher Addae, at the launch of a "Save Water Campaign" in Accra, Mr Owusu-Agyemang stated that Aqua Vitens Rand Limited, consultants to Ghana Water Company, had estimated that about 40 to 45 per cent of unaccountable water in the system was due to illegal connections and leakages.

"This has made it difficult for the company to supply the required
amount of water to consumers," he added.

The campaign is to educate people on the need to conserve water for the sustenance of life.

Mr Owusu-Agyemang said Densu River, which supplied water to parts of
Greater Accra and the Eastern regions, was heavily polluted and the Company spent billions of cedis annually to purify it.

According to him, this had come about because communities along the
River used its buffer zone and the River itself for all sorts of activities.

The Minister said there was the need for all to inculcate water
conservation attitude in the public and avoid using unreasonably high amounts of water to wash cars, dishes, water lawns and gardens.

He urged the public to report leakages to the appropriate authorities
for repairs.

Mr. Cliff Stone, Operations Director of Aqua Vitens Rand Limited, said although the company did not have valid data on illegal connections, it was the leading cause of loss of water to the Company.

Source: GNA