Daily Graphic

"Danger!...Pollution of Densu River poses hazard", says the lead headline of the Graphic.

The accompanying story says painstaking investigations conducted by the paper in close collaboration with environmental experts, have established that the dumping of solid and liquid waste into the Densu River has been the major cause of pollution of the river. The Graphic says a visit to the catchment area of the Weija Dam in Accra, along the Densu River through Nsawam to Koforidua in the Eastern Region, showed that almost all the towns along the river had their refuse dumps and toilet disposal points either close to the river or near streams which flow into the Densu River. Thus when it rains, the waste is washed into the river and continues to the Weija catchment area of the Ghana Water and Sewerage Corporation The Weija Dam supplies water to residents of some parts of Accra. President Jerry Rawlings, last Monday, directed the Minister of Works and Housing to take immediate steps to investigate reports of discharge of raw sewage into the Densu River by the Nsawam Prison community as well as some towns along the river's catchment area.

GRi