Commission initiates moves to monitor local water bodies pg 20
The Water Resources Commission in Collaboration (WRC) with the Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) has introduced pupils of selected schools and community groups in the Weija community, in Accra, to simple water quality kits that facilitates the determination of the quality of raw and treated water.
The project is to create awareness and ensure public involvement in protecting water resources around the world by engaging the citizenry to monitor their local water bodies using the kits provided.
The initiative, which is under the auspices of the International Water Association (IWA), is in line with an international education and outreach programme under the World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) programme of the IWA.
The primary goal of the WWMD is to educate and engage people in the protection of the world’s water resources as many people are ignorant of the impact of their actions on water quality.
The groups were taken through using the kits to measure the relative clarity of water, the temperature, the acidic or basic quality of water, and the saturation percentage of dissolved oxygen of various points along the Weija Dam.
The pilot scheme started with communities along the Densu Basin which include Nsawam and Koforidua and would eventually be spread to cover water bodies nationwide.
Data gathered from the monthly test would be sent to the IWA for analysis.
The Co-ordinator of the Densu Basin Programme at the WRC, Mr Ronald Abrahams, said the exercise was to bring communities a step above the awareness creation and help them to appreciate the need for consistent water management and conservation.
Mr Abrahams noted that the programme would ensure that community members would know what happens to their water bodies and seek assistance for interventions to be introduced to ensure that water bodies were fairly clean before treatment and distribution.
He observed that high level of pollution did not only make the water bodies unsafe for consumption but also affected aquatic life as fishes and other living organisms struggled to survive.
He advised the participants to monitor the use of their kits monthly to achieve the purpose for which they were donated.
The Director of Water at the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Nii Okai Kotei, said his outfit was concerned with water from the point of production to distribution hence the partnership with the WRC and the IWA to enhance water quality for treatment, which would ultimately affect the price the consumer paid for water.
He expressed satisfaction with the enthusiasm the pupils showed in the project.
A laboratory technician at the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) treatment plant at Weija, Mr Paul Senahia, said the dam had seen increased pollution because of the increasing population along the Densu Basin.
He said the activities of some fishermen also affected the cost of treating water, adding that the scheme would go a long way towards reducing the cost of treating water.
The project is to create awareness and ensure public involvement in protecting water resources around the world by engaging the citizenry to monitor their local water bodies using the kits provided.
The initiative, which is under the auspices of the International Water Association (IWA), is in line with an international education and outreach programme under the World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) programme of the IWA.
The primary goal of the WWMD is to educate and engage people in the protection of the world’s water resources as many people are ignorant of the impact of their actions on water quality.
The groups were taken through using the kits to measure the relative clarity of water, the temperature, the acidic or basic quality of water, and the saturation percentage of dissolved oxygen of various points along the Weija Dam.
The pilot scheme started with communities along the Densu Basin which include Nsawam and Koforidua and would eventually be spread to cover water bodies nationwide.
Data gathered from the monthly test would be sent to the IWA for analysis.
The Co-ordinator of the Densu Basin Programme at the WRC, Mr Ronald Abrahams, said the exercise was to bring communities a step above the awareness creation and help them to appreciate the need for consistent water management and conservation.
Mr Abrahams noted that the programme would ensure that community members would know what happens to their water bodies and seek assistance for interventions to be introduced to ensure that water bodies were fairly clean before treatment and distribution.
He observed that high level of pollution did not only make the water bodies unsafe for consumption but also affected aquatic life as fishes and other living organisms struggled to survive.
He advised the participants to monitor the use of their kits monthly to achieve the purpose for which they were donated.
The Director of Water at the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Nii Okai Kotei, said his outfit was concerned with water from the point of production to distribution hence the partnership with the WRC and the IWA to enhance water quality for treatment, which would ultimately affect the price the consumer paid for water.
He expressed satisfaction with the enthusiasm the pupils showed in the project.
A laboratory technician at the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) treatment plant at Weija, Mr Paul Senahia, said the dam had seen increased pollution because of the increasing population along the Densu Basin.
He said the activities of some fishermen also affected the cost of treating water, adding that the scheme would go a long way towards reducing the cost of treating water.
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