Residents of Bongo and its environs in the Upper East Region, who have for years been drinking fluoride contaminated water, will soon enjoy potable water supply. A test run for the potable water project funded by the World Bank at a cost of GH¢48,000 is ongoing. For many decades, boreholes sank in the area contained substantial quantities of fluoride and were considered unsafe for human consumption. The fluoride contamination is believed to be the cause of the brownish yellow teeth of most residents with others suffering from weak bones and other inexplicable sicknesses. Mr. Clement Akugre, Bongo District Chief Executive, who disclosed this to the Times at Bongo, said most of the 180 boreholes sank for the people in the area, had been sealed off because of the high concentration of fluoride. He hinted that to ensure a comprehensive solution to the fluoride problem, the government had also sourced for 42,000 euros for the treatment of water from the Tono Dam reservoir for distribution to Navrongo, Vea, Bolgatanga and Bongo. He said initial attempts by the government to tap pipe-borne water from Bolgatanga to Bongo stalled due to financial constraints. Mr. Akugre said due to those problems the Bongo Township had been without water supply for over three months because efforts by the government to extend pipe-borne water through the Ghana Water Company to Bongo had also stalled. He was, therefore, happy that with the provision of the small town supply system by the World Bank through the discovery of enough pure water, many meters underground and its mechanization, their predicament would soon be over. He said that the breakthrough had been the result of many years of research by experts from all over the world. Mr Akugre said the project, undertaken by UTATEC, a Bolgatanga-based firm which began in 2007, had been completed on schedule and would soon be inaugurated. Source: The Ghanaian Times