Residents in the Asante Akyem South municipality in the Ashanti Region risk potential water shortages as the Owerri River reportedly stops flowing.

The Ghana Water Limited in the region has revealed the river, which is already heavily polluted by illegal mining activities, has rather turned more turbid in the last two months.

This is reportedly reducing pressure to the water treatment plant in the area with an imminent decrease in water distribution to various homes across the municipality.

The Oda River flowing to Obuasi and its environs has also seen astronomical increases in turbidity.

Ashanti Regional Manager of the Ghana Water Limited, Dr. Hanson Mensah-Akutteh is distraught over the recent development.

“Galamsey I don’t know if it has come to stay. For the past two months, it has even worsened. The Odaso river flowing to Obuasi is registering 18,000 NTU of turbidity from an initial 8,000 NTU within the last two months. The Owerri River in Konongo has also moved from 5,000 NTU to 12,000 NTU. As we speak the river has stopped flowing,” he said.

He continued: “That river is no more functional. If it continues for a long time, the people of Konongo may not even have water at all. Because there’s not even a single drop of water in the river to extract for treatment”.

The situation continues to impact the cost of production.

The water company is adopting what managers describe as post-predictive measures to sustain the high cost of production.

Increasing foreign exchange rates, customer indebtedness and the devastating effects of illegal mining are driving the high cost of water production in the region.

But to survive the situation, the water distribution company says it has adopted purchasing strategies that help them procure materials like water-treating chemicals to beat down the high exchange rates.

“The power cost has risen from 0.8 million cedis, in June to December, to about 1.5 million cedis per metre cube. The chemical cost has also increased from 0.2 million to about 1.3 million cedis within the same period,” he said.

Meanwhile, the water distribution company is servicing its lines to ensure adequate water flow during the festive season.