The Manhyia Palace has warned persons fond of felling trees along water bodies to desist from the act.
This directive is to ensure a regular supply of water in the region as many activities of illegal miners and encroachers have affected the operations of the Ghana Water Company Limited.
The Palace has also given all farmers engaged in activities in the designated buffer zones an ultimatum to cease operations by June.
The Programmes Coordinator of the Asante Kingdom Landscape Restoration Programme, Fred Kyei after an engagement with some farmers at Barekese said for every tree cut, the culprit is expected to replace with 100 trees.
“Nobody is supposed to cut a tree within four hundred metres within any river or water body in this kingdom. If you cut a tree, you will plant a hundred. Those who have already planted within the 100 metre buffer zone, we have given them up to June to stop planting so that we can plant grass, reeds, and trees to make sure we arrest erosion and turbidity of our water bodies,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Water Company in the Ashanti Region is lamenting over how the activities of encroachers and illegal miners negatively affect the water supply in the region.
Major water bodies have been invaded and polluted and officials say the activities have also led to an astronomical increase in production cost.
The Ashanti Regional Water Quality Manager at GWCL, Alhaji Adam Yakubu says there is a need for urgent attention to bring the situation under control.
“Our systems are made for a specific design capacity and when we treat water part of the water drawn away like dirty water as a result of the treatment. As this activity continues, the dirty aspect of the water tends to increase, therefore the available water for the consuming people tend to reduce even though the plant’s capacity is intact. But because of the poor quality of the hot water, it tends to reduce the available water that we finally send to the public,” he said.