The Water Resources Commission is worried about the improper disposal of solid waste and its effect on access to clean water.
In a recent conversation with Jesse Kazapoe, Head of the White Volta Basin at the Water Resources Commission, he expressed worry about the sheer quantum of solid waste in gutters in the Upper East Region, suggesting that “people deliberately go and put them there.”
He recounted a situation where he had to intervene and prevent the dumping of refuse at an unapproved site.
“On your way to Zuarungu, just on your approach to the bridge, look on your right-hand side, they are turning that whole area into a refuse dump. I have had cause to actually confront someone over there. The person came to pack the motorbike and removed waste he had gathered from his home and was dumping it there,” he said.
Mr. Kazapoe explained that all the waste put in the area will eventually be pushed into the stream in the area and contaminate the water.
The Head of the White Volta basin explained that while Tamale is not part of the White Volta Basin, the basin actively remains their source of water, and as such, all activities that happen in the Upper East Region go to pollute water accessible to residents in Tamale.
He said the effect of the wrongful disposal of solid waste goes beyond contamination to the depletion of fish stocks and other living organisms within the ecosystem.
Mr. Kazapoe advocated for the proper disposal of solid waste to save the environment.
Source: A1Radioonline.Com|101.1MHZ|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Bolgatanga|
