Damongo goes thirsty; major drinking water source poisoned, aquatic life threatened

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Up to 50,000 residents in the West Gonja District town of Damongo have been exposed to toxic levels of poisonous substances from their main source of drinking water, Dailymailgh.com can report.

The alarm blew when dead fishes and other forms of aquatic life were seen afloat at the banks of the popular Damongo Agricultural Dam last week Thursday.

Correspondent Zion Abdul Rauf reports that a machine had been installed on the water surface when he visited the site over the weekend.

Residents are pointing to a chemical suspected to be Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT.

DDT is a colourless, tasteless, and almost odourless crystalline chemical compound, an organochlorine—commonly used by some fishermen especially along the coast of Ghana.

The incident, according to reports, has left residents scared and worried about the availability of alternative sources.

“It’s unfortunate. You can see fishes and other aquatic animals found dead on the shores of the only dam that supplies the entire Damongo township with water. Such acts are inhumane and must not be contained in the society,” an angry resident told Dailymailgh.com.

“The development means that our water crisis will deepen. We are going to go without water for a long time. I have not seen the tanker drivers coming to draw water and it appears the situation will adversely affect the entire Damongo township”, another resident fumed as he called on the National Security to investigate the incident.

Meanwhile, authorities are yet to comment on the development at the time of filing this report.

Government earmarks €233m for Tamale and Damongo water project

Located in the Savannah Region, Damongo has been without potable water for several years now, thus making women and children to walk long distances in search of water.

The government in June this year said it has allocated €233 million to improve access to safe drinking water in Damongo and Tamale.

“This new project aims to address water shortages for Tamale, Damongo and surrounding communities and to achieve the Ghanaian government’s goal of water for all by 2030,” said Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Ghana’s Minister of Information at a press briefing in Accra.

The financing of the drinking water project is secured through a loan from Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest bank.

The government estimates that the project will benefit 800,000 people in the targeted cities and their satellite communities.

By Zion Abdul Rauf, Daily Mail GH