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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says its integrated Management of Invasive Aquatic Weed Project has resulted in the removal of 150 hectares of aquatic weeds from two major water bodies � the Volta and Tano Rivers. However, the 150 hectares �is like a drop in the ocean� considering the fact that there is an estimated 6,000 hectares of water weed occupying substantial and critical portions of the Volta, Tano and Oti Rivers. Thus, any tardy action in combating the onslaught of water weeds could result in the drying up of Volta River, one of the nation�s most treasured water bodies, in just ten (10) years, Mr Carl Fiati, Principal Programme Officer of the EPA has warned. He says, �If we leave the situation as it is now, in ten years we would lose the Volta.� He gave the caution last Friday when he briefed a team of journalists of Atimpoku, capital of the Asuogyaman District, prior to a tour of the Volta River extension close to the Kpong Headworks of the Ghana Water Company Limited, where various species of water weeds pose significant threat even after some work has been done there to mitigate the menace. In a presentation on Aquatic Weeds Menace: Past, Present and Future Perspectives, Mr Fiati described water weeds as a threat to national security. He regretted that �we have allowed the situation to come to this level.� According to him, �At this point you cannot talk about elimination. You can only talk about managing it.� A plant becomes water weed when it is able to dominate the eco-system. Although the water weed problem is not peculiar to Ghana, over the last decade it has assumed alarming proportions. It is said that water weeds are not bad per se, since most of them originate from the water system. Normally, they serve useful functions including preventing erosion by reducing flow rate, adding dissolved oxygen, acting as food for fishes and other organisms in the water, and removing dirt from the water. Nonetheless, they have several undesirable characteristics including ability to impede navigation, irrigation, drainage and hydro power generation. They also affect fisheries, potable water production and recreation as well as being responsible for the drying up of rivers and lakes. Water weeds also increase vector diseases, especially bilharzia, and harbour small snails which in turn serve as hosts for the organisms that cause bilharzia. In Ghana, classes of water weeds identified include emergent, sub-merged, hydrophytes, floating leafed and free floating. The sub-merged and free floating classes are the types responsible for much of the problem on the Volta River. So far in Ghana, Water Hyacinth has been established as �the most notorious water weeds,� according to Mr Fiati. It is present in the Oti, Tano and Lower Volta Rivers. The EPA Principal Programme Officer said the Water Hyacinth multiplies very fast, and �it is like a water pump; it dries up water bodies very fast.� But equally dangerous is the Kariba Weed, he added. He urged the public to call the EPA�s attention to any location where these weeds are found, especially the Water Hyacinth. He disclosed its good features are appealing to the public hence they are used for aesthetic purpose. The ongoing Integrated Management of Invasive Aquatic Weed Project targets the removal of 700 hectares of water weeds from the Volta and Tano Rivers. A separate project is being implemented by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on the Oti River. The phenomenon of aquatic weeds is considered a transitional problem because many water bodies are cross-boundary in nature. This means even when one country tackles the problem, more weeds could drift from upstream from another country. Mrs Jewel Kudjawu, Principal Programme Office of EPA, told journalists that the Integrated Management of Invasive Aquatic Weed Project included current collaboration among eight West African countries, comprising Ghana, Benin, Gambia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Mauritania. However, Ghana�s immediate neighbours � Cote d�Ivoire, Togo and Burkina Faso are not part of the project. The project is being funded with a 2.5 million dollar loan facility from the African Development Bank. It has a $320,000 grant component, while the Ghana government is expected to contribute $625,000. Mr Kudjawu said water weeds being combated through manual removal, biological control and utilisation of weeds. According to her, a lot of ground has been covered through sensitization of riparian communities, formation of community Water Weeds Committees, and procurement of 10 fire glass boats and protective clothing like life jackets. However, she said constraints included the non-participation of Ghana�s immediate neighbours and the high cost of water weed removal.