Managing Director (MD) of the Ghana Water Company Limited, Adam Mutawakilu, has disclosed that water treated by the company is safe for consumption, assuring consumers of rigorous testing and treatment.
The MD said the company has several collaborations with institutions, including university lecturers who research polluted rivers.
The collaborations are aimed at determining whether rivers contain concentrations of heavy metals.
Mr Mutawakilu also disclosed that the company has about five mobile vans stationed in galamsey communities, whose work is to test for the presence of metals in polluted rivers.
“We have about five mobile vans that are in the hard hit galamsey sites so that there can be easy movement and testing of water, both raw and processed,” he said.
He further assured consumers of safety, stating: “I can assure Ghanaians that the water we drink is safe. We are doing rigorous testing, we are collaborating with institutions, we are collaborating with researchers to ensure that whatever we do is quality.”
But the Chairperson for the Water, Environment and Sanitation Group of the Civil Technical Division of the Ghana Institution of Engineers, Dr Bertha Dartey, said the claims may not be entirely accurate, noting that some metals in polluted rivers are not always visible, making detection difficult at times.
“Some of these heavy metals, you may not detect them, or their level of concentration is low, you may miss them, but they are in the water. So that is a risk that we have to reflect on. But I think, looking forward, Ghana may need to change its treatment methods and add some tertiary treatment to deal with heavy metals,” she said.