The Managing Director of Ghana Water Limited (GWL), Adam Mutawakilu, has announced a comprehensive proposal to address the growing threat of illegal mining, or galamsey, on the country’s water treatment infrastructure.
The initiative is a proactive step to reverse the damage caused by siltation and pollution in major water bodies.
Speaking on the issue at a press briefing in Accra on Monday, October 20, Mutawakilu outlined a targeted 24-month catchment recovery plan focused on eight critical river bodies that feed GWL’s treatment plants across the country.
“We propose an upstream solution, a joint 24-month catchment recovery plan focused on eight priority river bodies feeding our plants,” he said. “The plan combines riverbank stabilisation and revegetation at erosion hotspots, targeted, survey-led dredging around intake channels, and coordinated land use compliance and community engagement to protect riparian buffers.”
According to GWL, the initiative is not only environmentally urgent but economically sound. Mutawakilu explained that the plan is designed to restore the water abstraction capacity of the affected plants, ease treatment difficulties, and ultimately reduce costs.
“While this makes financial sense, targeted upstream action will restore abstraction capacity, reduce treatment challenges, lower specific energy per cubic metre, and extend asset life by cutting corrosive wear,” he noted.
He further emphasised that the proposed measures would help shift the company from reactive crisis management to a more stable, cost-effective system.
“In simple terms, we convert recurring emergencies into planned high-yield interventions that stabilise production and bend the unit cost curve back towards baseline,” he added.
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