Ghana will need an estimated $35 million to fully restore the heavily polluted Birim River, Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) Chief Executive Nana Ama Brown Klutse said on Tuesday, underscoring the scale of damage caused by illegal mining.
Speaking during a pilot application of ionic nano copper technology at Kyebi-Adukrom in Ghana’s Eastern Region, Prof. Klutse said early results from the trial were encouraging but warned that nationwide restoration would require sustained funding.
“It took us about $200,000 to procure an amount that will clean one kilometre of every flowing river body. The Birim River is about 175 kilometres, so you can do the mathematics, we are talking about $35 million,” she said in an interview with Accra-based Channel One TV.
The EPA has been testing ionic nano copper as part of a broader national strategy to rehabilitate degraded rivers and improve long-term water resource management. The technology, officials say, can treat water contaminated by heavy metals associated with illegal mining, locally known as galamsey.
Prof. Klutse said the pilot intervention had already produced visible improvements in treated sections of the river, but cautioned that scaling the effort across the river’s full length would depend on securing adequate financing.
The Birim River, a key water source for several communities, has suffered extensive degradation in recent years, leading to poor water quality, damage to aquatic ecosystems and reduced access to safe drinking water along its banks.
The EPA said it would continue to engage government agencies and partners to mobilise resources to expand the clean-up beyond the pilot phase.
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