By John Guamah Amanor
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has committed to restoring the heavily polluted Birim River.
As part of a pilot intervention, the EPA has acquired a technology costing about $200,000 to restore just one kilometre of pollution in a river.
The project, currently underway at Kyebi in the Eastern Region, marks the first scientific field application of Ionic Nano Copper technology to treat water bodies contaminated by illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
At a demonstration exercise, the Ionic Nano Copper solution was used in visibly brown river water. Within moments, the water turned milky white, an early indication of the project’s potential success. According to the project scientist, Mr. Nicholas Shaw, the test begins the purification process.
Chief Executive Officer of the EPA, Prof. Ama Nana Brown Klutse, described the pilot as a critical step in addressing years of mining-induced pollution.
“This intervention allows us to test effectiveness, safety, and scalability before considering wider implementation,” she noted.
The $200,000 allocation covers the treatment of a one-kilometre stretch of the river, laboratory analysis, monitoring, technical expertise, and regulatory assessment. Samples from the treated section have been sent for further scientific testing to determine the long-term impact and viability of replicating the technology across other polluted rivers.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Standards Authority, Awal Mohammed, said the initiative could represent a breakthrough in river restoration efforts if proven successful.
The director in charge of mining at EPA, Michael Sandow Ali says it is considering regulatory measures that could make wastewater treatment with Ionic Nano Copper mandatory before discharge into natural water bodies.
Multi-Agency Collaboration
The pilot project is being undertaken in collaboration with the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Water Resources Commission and Ghana Water Company Limited.
Environmental analysts say while $200,000 for one kilometre underscores the high cost of remediation, it also highlights the far greater economic and ecological damage caused by illegal mining activities.
The success or otherwise of the Birim River pilot is expected to shape Ghana’s long-term strategy in reclaiming polluted water bodies across the country.
