Densu River A Death Threat

The Densu River is a 116km along river in Ghana rising in the Atiwa range. It flows through an economically important agricultural region, supplies drinking water to some part of the capital city of Ghana, Accra and ends in ecologically significant wetlands at the edge of the Atlantic ocean.’ But our dear water has become a death threat to human life’.

Investigations conducted on the daily activities of individuals and groups of people along the banks of the Densu river have revealed massive pollution of the water with human excrete as well as liquid and toxie wastes which are extremely harmful to human health.

Another shocking development is the liquid waste from the Nsawam prisons, flowing into the Mahoma River which runs along the prison yard which chains into the Doboro River and runs directly into the Densu River as a result, threatening the lives of a large number of people, including some foreign nationals, whose main source of drinking water is the Densu River.

Some houses had connected the sewage from the WC and into the same water, the entire liquid waste from the main Nsawam lorry park has also been directed into the River. Some people also had erected urinals on the along the river and charging money from people who patronize the facility. The urine flows directly into the River. Kwabena Adu Koranteng reported.

Some people living in communities along its banks also enter it to attend nature’s call making aquatic live difficult.

In the course of finding, Kwabena and his team captured a scene where an old lady come to fetch water at a place where some young men believed to be butchers ,had killed goats and sheep and were washing the blood and the faeces  of the carcasses into the river. At the same time, some commercial drivers were also seen fetching water to wash their  vehicles along the road and the dirty water was running into the river that flows into the dam at Weija near Accra.

Galamsey does not only pollute rivers and other water bodies but also leaves deaths traps for miners themselves and other individuals. There are several report that shows that ‘galamsey’ operations are polluting the Densu River which serve as sources of drinking water for communities in that catchment areas.

In spite of the negative effect of illegal mining on river bodies and other water bodies, many communities in the rural areas, due to lack of alternative sources of water, tend to use the same polluted water without any fear. They drink, cook, bath and perform all tasks with polluted water in spite of the risk of contracting diseases, such as cholera, dysentery, cancer from contact to mercury and fever amongst others.

As we celebrate World Water Day today, we pray and hope authorities will act and save our water bodies so we do not import water one day.

By: www.radiooneghanacom /Agyapong Michael