Officials of Ghana Water Company are overwhelmed by the level of destruction caused by encroachers on the catchment of the Barekese Dam in the Ashanti region.

They say the development, if not checked could deprived residents of Kumasi and its environs access to portable drinking water as quality of water in the dam is affected; forcing management to spend more on production.

Chief Manager of Ashanti Production, Ing Francis Kwesi Awotwe tells Nhyira Fm operations of encroachers have pushed production cost to over 60 per cent as the water company spends more chemicals during production.

His comments come as the Ghana Water Company Limited embark on tree planting exercise in the catchment area of the Barekese Dam as part of celebrations of the World Water Day.

Over 1,000 trees were planted to restore the depleted forest reserve.

Though figures are not readily available, officials of GWCL say the destruction to the vegetative cover around the dam has reached an alarming rate  as estate developers, farmers, chainsaw operators, among others invade the catchment.

During a visit to the area, Nhyira FM observed most of the trees in the catchment have been cut as activities of encroachers become widespread. For instance, an unidentified farmer had cleared and burnt a large tract of the forest for farming in the northern section of the dam during a visit to the area.

The development exposes the dam to direct sunshine as water evaporates easily. It then affects the volume of water in the dam. Life and property could also be lost as the course of water flow into the dam is diverted.

“It’s quiet alarming. Most of the trees have been destroyed. When they do that, the dam is exposed to direct sunshine so evaporation increases. A lot of silt flows into the dam making it shallow. The embankment of the dam becomes so lose that when the water is flowing instead of the concrete structure, it will divert”. Ing Awotwe revealed.

As silt deposits find its way into the dam, water become turbid and muddy, making treatment difficult.

 “The water is becoming more turbid and more muddy. And because of that we have to use more chemicals. The cost of production has increased. Some years ago, it was less that Gh1 per cubic meter. As we speak, it is getting to almost Gh7 per cubic meter. The Alum that we used, we were dosing below 50 grams per cubic meter. That was the highest. These days; sometimes we use as higher as 80 grams. So the production cost all things being equal has increased by 60 per cent”. Ing Awotwe explained.

He warned if the situation remains unchanged, then supply of portable water to the Kumasi metropolis and its environs could be disrupted.