EPA Shifts Strategy, Prioritizing Deep Dredging of Pra, Bonsu, and Tano Rivers Ahead of Chemical Remediation | Discuss Ghana

The state’s environmental regulatory body has rolled out a sweeping, aggressive engineering blueprint to rescue Ghana’s heavily degraded southwestern water basins. Transitioning from ordinary surveillance to active, large-scale ecosystem restoration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced an ambitious campaign to dredge the heavily silted Pra, Bonsu, and Tano rivers.

The policy shift, officially disclosed by EPA Chief Executive Officer Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse, marks a critical pivot in how the state addresses the devastating dual crises of rural flash flooding and systemic water pollution. Rather than rushing into expensive chemical treatments to neutralize heavy metal contamination in rivers choked by galamsey (illegal mining) mud, the agency is prioritizing a mechanical overhaul to restore the natural depth, velocity, and flow profiles of the water bodies first.

The Mechanics of the Revised Remediation Framework

Prof. Nana Ama Browne Klutse’s operational briefing clarifies the scientific and engineering logic behind deploying heavy dredging fleets to the Western, Central, and Ashanti regional river corridors:

Breaking the Siltation Bottleneck: Decades of unchecked illegal alluvial mining have completely warped the topography of the Pra and Tano basins. Miners excavate riverbanks and dump millions of tonnes of loose sediment directly into the water, transforming deep, fast-flowing rivers into shallow, wide channels of thick brown sludge. The EPA’s immediate focus is to mechanically excavate this dense silt layer, allowing the rivers to drop back into their original, deep-set geological beds.

The Flood Control Catalyst: By restoring the structural holding capacity of the Pra, Bonsu, and Tano rivers, the dredging exercises will serve as an essential flood mitigation tool. When heavy tropical downpours hit these forest belts, the shallow, choked channels instantly overflow, flooding nearby farming communities, cocoa plantations, and rural roads. Deepening the riverbanks will allow the channels to safely contain and evacuate high-volume storm runoff.

Maximizing Chemical Treatment Efficiency: The EPA revealed that previous trials using water-cleaning technologies—similar to recent pilot tests conducted on the Birim River—were heavily hindered by extreme turbidity. Attempting to introduce purifying chemicals directly into thick, churning mud is functionally useless and financially wasteful. Deep dredging will allow the suspended solids to settle, creating a clearer, low-turbidity water column where subsequent state-sponsored chemical treatments can effectively eliminate traces of dangerous mercury and cyanide.