PURC warns of high water tariffs if galamsey is not tackled immediately

The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has warned of a rise in water tariffs if illegal mining activities popularly called ‘galamsey’ along Ghana’s water bodies are not tackled entirely.

The utility regulator said the activity was making the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) increase their operation cost to almost 10 times higher due to how the waters were heavily polluted.

Philip Agbezudor, the Volta Regional Director, PURC, gave the hint in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of the state of Water security amid concerns over galamsey activities that have polluted most major water bodies in the country.

“Due to the high level of pollution, the Ghana Water Company Limited must use more sophisticated chemicals such as polymer and others to treat the water. Meanwhile these new chemicals are expensive and are imported from outside,” he lamented.

He also raised health concerns over the use of the new chemicals, saying, “Due to how hard they are, these chemicals should not be an option, but it has become necessary due to the high level of pollution in our rivers, the more the pollution, the higher they threat it to being neutralisation.”

Agbezudor stated that the situation was affecting their equipment, which required periodic repairs, unlike in the past when rivers were not polluted and attributed the breakdown of some water treatment plants across the country to unacceptable practice.

He also revealed that the activities have increased the production cost of the water supply companies, a situation that was adversely affecting what customers must pay.

He said the situation was posing a serious threat to Ghana’s Water Security and that, there must be urgent action to reduce the menace.

“The situation is a major threat to Ghana’s water security, and if we do not tackle the situation head-on, we may have a serious water crisis on our hands,” he added.