THE Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Alban Bagbin, has observed that the continuous usage of pipe-borne water by vehicle washing bays is posing a threat to the continuous availability of water in urban centres.
He also mentioned pollution, cutting of vegetative cover and dumping of toxic waste in water sources as some of the other activities posing hazard to water bodies in the country.
“These and other similar activities are causing siltation of our river channels, thereby reducing their flood carrying capacities and reducing the quality of water and its availability,” the minister stated.
Mr Bagbin was speaking at a forum on the water situation in the country and the Northern Region in Tamale.
According to him, the annual population growth in the country was putting pressure on the available water.
“This means that today the quantity of water available to us per person has reduced to about a third of what it was in 1960, and will further shrink to a sixth by 2050; in other words, the water available to us today is only 29 per cent of what it was in 1960, and will be only 16 per cent by 2050,” Mr Bagbin stated.
He mentioned the available water systems in the country to include the Black and White Volta, Oti, Tano, Pra, Ochi, Ayensu, Densu and Ankobra.
Mr Bagbin said the average annual volume of water available to Ghana was about 40 billion cubic meters (about 9,000 billion gallons) per year.
On achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the minister said even though the government had set a minimum target of 78 per cent coverage by 2015, “our target is to reach 85 per cent by 2015 and universal access by 2025.”
“As a party and a government, our pledge to the good people of Ghana is to end the perennial water crisis of our communities and cities by significantly expanding and upgrading water infrastructure by the end of our first term in office,” Mr Bagbin emphasised.
The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Moses Mabengba, expressed concern over the inadequate water resources in the area, adding that about only 60 per cent of the rural and peri-urban population currently had access to safe water.
“The implications are that the unserved population is at risk of contracting the various forms of water-borne and water-related diseases, and are thus unable to contribute meaningfully to life and the socio-economic development of their communities,” he stated.
He commended the government and other development partners for their various contributions in the provision of water to the people over the years.
Mr Mabengba, however, appealed for more support to address the growing imbalance in the water supply systems in the region, particularly in rural communities.
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