The Water Resources Commission has raised serious concerns over the rampant and careless disposal of mechanical fluids, particularly used engine oil from motorbikes and cars.
According to the Commission, these automotive products contain toxic chemicals that pose significant risks not just to the environment but also to human health. When such fluids seep into water bodies or underground sources, they contaminate drinking water and disrupt aquatic ecosystems, silently endangering the lives of people and wildlife who depend on them.
“Most of our mechanics who service vehicles just pour the waste water and fluids on the ground. They do not collect or store them for proper treatment and possible reuse. When fuels, lubricants, and other substances are disposed of improperly, they wash into our gutters, which eventually lead into streams, and from there into major rivers,” said Jesse Kazapoe, Head of the White Volta Basin of the Water Resources Commission. “Once surface water is polluted, you should also expect groundwater to be affected.”
Kazapoe, speaking exclusively to A1 Radio’s Mark Smith on the sidelines of the Sissili Sub-Basin Committee meeting in Bolgatanga, explained that the issue is directly impacting both the quality of surface and underground water within the Sissili Sub-Basin.
Other contributing factors to the decline in water quality in the sub-basin include the improper disposal of household and industrial waste.
“We do not have any proper systems for waste disposal, so people just dump them in the environment. Our water bodies are usually at the lowest elevation in our communities, so everything discarded—plastic bottles, rubbers, metals—eventually ends up in the water. These materials decompose over time. For example, if iron-based waste ends up in the water, it decays and increases the iron concentration in the water, making it unsafe,” Kazapoe noted.
The Water Resources Commission, through its Sissili Sub-Basin Committee, is partnering with other organizations to raise awareness and address poor sanitation practices within the basin. “It is very important. We need to tackle waste disposal seriously—both liquid and solid,” he emphasized.
The Sissili Sub-Basin is one of the key components of the White Volta Basin and spans parts of Ghana’s Upper East, Upper West, and North East Regions. It is primarily fed by the Sissili River, which originates from southern Burkina Faso and flows into the White Volta River.
Covering a vast area, the basin supports agriculture, domestic water supply, and local ecosystems. The Water Resources Commission, through its decentralized basin committees such as the Sissili Sub-Basin Committee, promotes integrated water resource management practices aimed at safeguarding the quality and sustainability of water within the region.
Source: A1Radioonline.com | 101.1MHz | Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith | Bolgatanga
