THE Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) is developing filter materials for the removal of high levels of fluoride and arsenic, two chemicals that pose a threat to the agency's rural water programme in six regions of the country.
The regions are Upper East, Upper West, Northern, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and Western where some of the people who consume the infected water have brittle bones and red teeth.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CWSA, Dr Philip Gyau-Boakye, made this known when his outfit presented one desktop computer to the Civil Engineering Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
The donation was in appreciation of the collaborative efforts of the department in developing the mwacafe iron removal plant for use by the CWSA.
The Eastern Regional Water and Sanitation Engineer of the CWSA, Mr Worlanyo Kwadjo Siabi, worked with the Civil Engineering Department in developing the mwacafe plant.
The CWSA has so far brought back to use more than 90 boreholes that were abandoned due to high concentration of iron and manganese.
Already, the mwacafe plant has won gold in the innovative service category of the maiden edition of the President's Excellence Awards for Public Service, while currently, it has been shortlisted for another award from the Public Service and Administration of the Republic of South Africa.
The CWSA has made the innovation available for application by the district assemblies on water projects.
Dr Gyau-Boakye said ground water had become widely used in the rural areas and even parts of the urban centres and it was important that the water quality was tackled with all seriousness.
He commended KNUST for its collaborative efforts with the agency and expressed the hope that the university would continue to open its doors to the CWSA.
The board chairman of the CWSA, Mr James Adusei Sarkodie, said poor water intake had been one major source of stunted growth of children in some parts of the country.
He stated that the agency had covered about 70 per cent of rural water supply.
While stressing the need for science teachers to be paid salaries higher that those in the arts, Mr Sarkodie pointed out that the nation could not move forward if science education was neglected.
The Vice Chancellor of KNUST, Prof. K.K. Adarkwa, urged postgraduate students to tailor their research works towards finding solutions to the nation's everyday problems such as energy and water supply, sanitation, HIV/AIDS, malaria and deforestation.
"This is the reason why the KNUST is putting in efforts to train more postgraduate students by increasing our intake for postgraduate students," he stated
No comments:
Post a Comment