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The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has stated that it has identified cancer-causing chemicals in River Pra in the Western Region.

According to the Head of Communication at the GWCL, Stanley Martey, those live threatening chemicals-cyanide and mercury have been released into the water body through galamsey operations in the area.

He indicated in a report on Citifmonline.com that the problem is taking a toll on their operations since the company is forced to allocate 30 per cent of its budget to buy more chemicals to neutralise the water.

“This illegal mining has been going on for a very long time and it pollutes the water to the extent that the levels are quite high so it is becoming very difficult for the Ghana Water Company.This is increasing our cost of production because we have had to use more chemicals to neutralise the waterbody to make it safe for the consumption,” said Martey.

“We have identified traces of cyanide and mecury in the Pra river and there is a suspicion that it is not only the Pra River but all other rivers that galamsey operations are ongoing currently in the country. What happens is that illegal miners use mercury and cyanide in the extraction of gold and this is what affects the water body,” he further explained.


Watch a video of galamsey operations on the River Pra