It is estimated that about 41% of Ghanaians currently depend on underground water for their domestic and industrial purposes – as well as at the community level as drinking water; which is more reliable, especially, during periods of drought.
Even though 41% of Ghanaians depend on groundwater for household use, this rate is higher in rural areas (59%) than in urban areas (16%). Groundwater dependency is much higher in northern Ghana due to low seasonal availability of surface water, with Ashanti Region having a high drilling success rate of 91%.
Studies have also confirmed that in the Ashanti Region the Birimian rock formation is within medium to high yielding potential zones (30-60 1/mm or higher) with a high drilling success rate of 91% and average borehole depth of 53m.
In an attribution to Appiah-Adjei & Osei-Nuamah (2017), a recent assessment of 2,788 drilled boreholes in Ashanti Region indicate that geological formation of the region comprised the Birimian , Grantoids, Tarkwaian and Voltarian formations.
The Granitoids are within the relatively low yielding zone (<30 1/min) with isolated high yielding boreholes, and have average boreholes depth and drilling success of 50 m and 72% respectively.
The Tarkwaian formation, on the other hand, is within the medium yield zone with a drilling success rate of 80% (ibid).
Generally, groundwater in Ashanti Region is largely potable except for a few locations within the Birimian and granitoids, where there are problems with the levels of iron, nitrate, manganese and arsenic.
In the Obuasi municipality, the mining of gold from the Birimiam rock rich in arsenopyrite ore leads to the release of arsenic (As), which can contaminate groundwater resources.
The Principal Officer and Head of Pra Basin of the Water Resource Commission, Mrs. Abena Dufie Wiredu Bremang, made these revelations and more during the commemoration of AngloGold Ashanti’s (AGA) maiden celebration and observation of World Water Day at Obuasi, on the theme ‘Groundwater – making the Invisible Visible’.
The event brought together stakeholders such as traditional leaders, Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) among others to observe World Water Day, which has been set up by the United Nations for global celebration
Mrs. Abena Dufie Wiredu Bremang assured the public that boreholes in the Obuasi municipality and its environs are not at risk of poisoning; she noted that WRC is however not relenting on its regular monitoring of boreholes and wells in the municipality, and throughout the region, to ensure the quality of water is good for consumption.
Touching on challenges bedevilling the future of groundwater, Mrs. Dufie Wiredu mentioned that much as groundwater presents a huge opportunity that humanity can leverage, human activities including rapid growth of population and the inelastic search for wealth as well as climate variability are increasing the pressure on groundwater resources quality.
She noted that issues of illegalities coupled with ‘galamsey and pollution’ are having countless effectds on the country’s ecosystem and on underground water: “What good will we have achieved if we end up destroying everything in our quest to extract gold and other resources?” she asked rhetorically.
Under the WRC implementation of the integrated Water Resources management (IWRM), she indicated that her outfit is vigorously engaging key stakeholders on all fronts and working together to ensure they effectively manage these groundwater resources for future generations.
