The impact of Sofokrom and Esipon quarry on river Anankwari and its implication on the people within the catchment area

Abstract

Availability of water is steadily decreasing at the same time as demand for water exceeds supply in the Sekondi -Takoradi Metropolitan as the population continues to rise due to commercial production of oil, existence of Harbour and expansion of other business in the region. This project seeks to assess the impact of Sofokrom and Esipon quarry on Anankwari River and its implication on the people within the catchment area, in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan. Simple random sampling techniques were used to select the respondents in the two communities for the administration of the questionnaire. This was followed by Purposive sampling to select the medical personnel for the interview in order to ascertain the facts. Hundred questionnaires were distributed to the two quarry mining communities (Sofokrom and Esipon) and 98% were retrieved. The questionnaire consists of both ended and open ended. A questionnaire guide was used for interview and water quality analysis conducted at the Ghana Water Company limited laboratory. It was revealed that, stone quarry activities in the river basin have resulted in the residue of chemicals in the rivers and had led to drying up of rivers and streams in the area which has culminated into insufficient water for households and inflicted infections of skin diseases and prolonged and chronic cough. The study also revealed that annual discharge of the river has decreased from 574796m3 in 2010 to 480252m3 in 2014 and could be attributed to the quarrying of stones in the river basin. All physico-chemical parameters such as pH, turbidity, colour, conductivity, temperature, total dissolved solids, and total suspended solids of the downstream of the river Anankwari were found not meeting the WHO standards for drinking water except chloride, manganese and total hardness and this pollution may be attributed to contamination from quarry activities. The finding support the conclusion that the water quality of the river at the downstream is below the desirable level and this causes diseases like cough, skin diseases on the inhabitant. The practical implication was that public awareness with respect to the need to boil and filter the water before drinking is significant in the area. It is thus recommended that a hydrological monitoring network station be established within the sub-catchment area to record these hydrological parameters for a longer time period, in order to establish the required parameters so as to inform the right time of treatment for the water in the area.