Abstract:
Availability of water is steadily decreasing at the same time as demand for water
exceeds supply in the Sekondi -Takoradi Metropolitan as the population continues to
rise due to commercial production of oil, existence of Harbour and expansion of other
business in the region. This project seeks to assess the impact of Sofokrom and Esipon
quarry on Anankwari River and its implication on the people within the catchment
area, in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan. Simple random sampling techniques
were used to select the respondents in the two communities for the administration of
the questionnaire. This was followed by Purposive sampling to select the medical
personnel for the interview in order to ascertain the facts. Hundred questionnaires
were distributed to the two quarry mining communities (Sofokrom and Esipon) and
98% were retrieved. The questionnaire consists of both ended and open ended. A
questionnaire guide was used for interview and water quality analysis conducted at
the Ghana Water Company limited laboratory. It was revealed that, stone quarry
activities in the river basin have resulted in the residue of chemicals in the rivers and
had led to drying up of rivers and streams in the area which has culminated into
insufficient water for households and inflicted infections of skin diseases and
prolonged and chronic cough. The study also revealed that annual discharge of the
river has decreased from 574796m3
in 2010 to 480252m3 in 2014 and could be
attributed to the quarrying of stones in the river basin. All physico-chemical
parameters such as pH, turbidity, colour, conductivity, temperature, total dissolved
solids, and total suspended solids of the downstream of the river Anankwari were
found not meeting the WHO standards for drinking water except chloride, manganese
and total hardness and this pollution may be attributed to contamination from quarry
activities. The finding support the conclusion that the water quality of the river at the downstream is below the desirable level and this causes diseases like cough, skin
diseases on the inhabitant. The practical implication was that public awareness with
respect to the need to boil and filter the water before drinking is significant in the
area. It is thus recommended that a hydrological monitoring network station be
established within the sub-catchment area to record these hydrological parameters for
a longer time period, in order to establish the required parameters so as to inform the
right time of treatment for the water in the area.
Description:
A Dissertation in the Department of CONSTRUCTION AND WOOD
TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION, Faculty of TECHNICAL EDUCATION,
submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, University of Education, Winneba
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Master of Technology
(Construction) degree.
JUNE, 2014