WORLD WATER DAY

-
Ghana today joins the world to observe World Water Day. 

The global theme for this year’s celebration is, “Why waste water?”

 It is in support of the Sustainable Development Goal on improving water quality and reducing, treating and reusing waste water.

 Globally, the vast majority of all the wastewater from homes, cities, industry and agriculture flows back to nature without being treated or reused, thereby polluting drinking, bathing and irrigation water. 

In the Ashanti Region, the Ghana Water Company is organizing a tour to the Barekese Water Treatment Dam, and its catchment area.

 The Barekese Water Treatment Dam, with a production capacity of  about 30 thousand million gallons of potable water a day to Kumasi and its adjoining districts, has come under attack in recent times.

 This is as a result of the perpetuation of certain human activities within the catchment areas considered detrimental to the sustenance of the tributaries of the Dam.

 About five rivers flow into the dam including River Offin which takes its source from the scarp near Ninting in the Asante Mampong municipality.

 Among the harmful activities being carried out around the Dam are gold mining, house construction, logging and crop farming with the application of agro chemicals that drips through the soil into the Dam.

In a message on the occasion of this year’s World Water Day, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, Madam Irina Bokova said most human activities produce waste water and over 80 per cent of the world’s waste water is released to the environment without treatment. 

She emphasized that limiting the discharge of untreated waste water into nature not only saves lives and strengthens healthy ecosystems, but also can help advance sustainable growth.

 Madam Bokova noted that access to safe water and sanitation services is essential to the human rights and dignity, and the survival, of women and men across the world, especially the most disadvantaged. 

In the face of growing demand, waste water can be a reliable alternative source of water. She said this calls for shifting the paradigm of waste water management from treatment and disposal to reuse and recycling. 

According to Madam Bokova, waste water should no longer be seen as a problem, but as part of the solution to challenges that all societies are facing.

 She said treated waste water can be a cost-efficient, sustainable, safe and reliable alternative source of water for a variety of purposes, including irrigation, industrial uses and drinking water, particularly under conditions of water scarcity.

People therefore need to change their mind-sets, to raise awareness and redouble educational efforts to share the benefits of waste water reuse.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

JUTE FACTORY IS BACK

-
Image
the administrative block under rehabilitation At long last, the much talked about defunct GIHOC Fibre manufacturing Company popularly known as the Jute Factory, is to be back in operations very soon.  Ashanti Today can confirm that work is feverishly ongoing towards the revival of the once golden sacks manufacturing company with the first production expected in the first quarter of next year.  It is a public-private partnership with a wholly Ghanaian company, Jute Mills Ghana Limited being the operator and has already sunk about five million Ghana Cedis to revamp the company.  The Jute Factory is located within the industrial area of Kaase.  It has been on divestiture for about 20 years now with successive governments paying lip-service to revamp it.   The old machinery at main factory to be replaced soon  It is one project that is dear to the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu, who has used almost every opportunity with business people and investors wh
Read more

THE STATE OF KUMASI'S 'INDUSTRIAL AREA

-
The once Industrial enclave of the Ashanti region within the Kumasi metropolis is fast losing its status as the nerve centre of jobs for the people.     This is due to the collapse of most of the companies in quick succession in  the last few years for various reasons. Background Industrialization was a key component of the first wholly indigenous government of Ghana led by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. The Ashanti region was not left out in this drive which was meant to create decent jobs for the residents, particularly the youth.  Asokwa, Ahinsan, Kaase, Atonsu and Kyirapatre were the communities that became what is known as the ‘Industrial Area’ of Ashanti from the early 60s.  The christening of this enclave as the ‘Industrial Area’ was the people’s appreciation of the numerous state and privately owned companies that were sited there.  These communities fall within present day Asokwa Constituency which is in the western part of the metropolis from the Accra d
Read more

KWAMANG SHS NEEDS URGENT HELP

-
Image
New Campus of the Kwamang Presby SHS The Kwamang Presby Senior High/Technical School in the Sekyere Central district of Ashanti needs an urgent external intervention to address some of its pressing basic needs to function very well.  A visit by Ashanti Today to the school’s premises revealed that the school does not have an administrative block to administer affairs of the school for which reason the Headmistress, the Bursar and another staff are sharing one room which has been partitioned, while the Assistant Headmaster, the rest of the Accounts staff among other administrative officers are also working from an improvised classroom. Anybody who visits the Kwamang Presby Senior High Technical school for the first time will unavoidably take it for a basic school.  This is more so when it appears to be perching on the premises of the local Junior High School as its old site.  The school is wallowing in a myriad of challenges that are seriously militating against
Read more