Residents of Assin Agave in the Assin North Constituency are battling a growing water crisis as illegal mining activities, popularly known as galamsey, continue to pollute the community’s main water sources.
The farming community, which for years relied on nearby streams for drinking, fishing, and irrigation, now depends on contaminated water after illegal miners degraded the water bodies.
“At first the water was very clean and fishing was very easy because of how clean the water was,” said resident Kwaku Osei. “Now the water is so polluted to the extent that we cannot even use it for irrigation.”
Environmental experts warn that the situation reflects a wider national problem. According to Ghana’s Water Resources Commission, more than 60 percent of rivers in mining areas have been polluted by illegal mining activities, increasing the cost of water treatment and threatening public health.
The crisis also highlights challenges in achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation, which seeks universal access to safe drinking water by 2030.
With their streams polluted, residents say they have little choice but to rely on unsafe water sources for daily activities.
Amid the crisis, aspiring independent parliamentary candidate for Assin North, Elkanah Frederick Ayittey, has visited the community and pledged to support the construction of a mechanized borehole to provide clean water.
“It is not pleasant for my people to be depending on this kind of water,” he said. “They appealed to my office and I plan to construct a borehole for them, but the community does not have electricity.”
As a temporary measure, he donated sachet water to residents to ease the immediate burden.
For many in Assin Agave, however, the long-term solution lies not only in boreholes but in protecting the rivers and lands that once sustained the community.
Ghana|Atinkaonline.com