Guarding Ghana’s Rivers: How the Blue Water Initiative Is Fighting Illegal Mining

For years, illegal mining has poisoned Ghana’s rivers including the Pra, Ankobra, Bonsa, and Tano with mercury, cyanide, and heavy sediment. Communities once able to drink from these rivers now rely on trucked water.

The Ghana Water Company Limited reports rising treatment costs and declining water quality, while the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has called the trend “a growing national emergency.”