It appears the water challenges of inhabitants of Kibi, capital of the East Akim Municipality, would be deepened in the coming days, following a possible shut down of the Kibi Water Works.
This follows the frustration of the Eastern Regional office of Ghana Urban Water Limited (GUWL) at the activities of illegal miners, and would have to shut down the facility within the next three months, if the activity persists.
Ing. Martin K. Ansah-Asante, Regional Production Manager of GUWL, in an interview with the paper, said the activities of the illegal miners, which have notoriously gained grounds in the area, were compromising the quality and quantity of water production.
According to him, instead of 24 hours water production, the Kibi water plant can only produce for three hours a day, because of the muddy nature of the raw water, which is making production difficult.
Apart from the difficulties of accessing clean raw water for production, the Regional Production Manager expressed grave worry over the cost of production facing the GUWL in recent times.
The management has, therefore, called on the government, particularly the sector responsible for curbing illegal mining activities, in order to avert the possible shut down of the plant.
The current water situation leaves much to be desired, considering the gross disrespect nearby inhabitants, particularly, the youth, who are engaged in the illegal mining activities, to water bodies in the area.
The illegal miners wash the raw material in any source of water body they cast their eyes on to get the precious metal.
These activities have polluted almost all the water bodies in the area, threatening the quality of drinking water for both human beings and animals.