Illegal mining silts Birim River, Kibi water treatment plant shut down

The Kibi Water Treatment Plant in the Eastern Region has remained shut since August 2026, following a dramatic deterioration in the quality of raw water from the Birim River, which supplies the plant.

The development has been blamed on the increasing impact of illegal mining activities along the Birim River, which have significantly raised the level of turbidity in the water and rendered treatment operations difficult.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa South, Dr. Kingsley Agyemang, disclosed the situation after inspecting portions of the Birim River with the District Manager of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) at Kibi recently.

According to the MP, the river’s average turbidity has reached an alarming 50,000 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU), a situation he attributed to the extensive environmental damage caused by illegal mining.

He said the exceptionally high turbidity had severely affected the ability of the treatment plant to process the raw water into potable water, resulting in prolonged disruption to water supply to communities dependent on the facility.

The Kibi water treatment plant

The Kibi Water Treatment Plant, he noted, had suffered intermittent shutdowns over the past decade as a result of deteriorating raw water quality linked to illegal mining activities.

However, Dr. Agyemang said the current shutdown, which began in August, had persisted for an unusually long period, raising serious concerns about the sustainability of potable water supply in the area.

“Standing beside the muddy waters, I witnessed the troubling state of a river that has sustained our communities for generations,” he said.

The MP warned that the continued degradation of the Birim River posed a direct threat to access to potable water and could place an increasing burden on residents and communities relying on the treatment plant. He said the situation required urgent and coordinated action to protect the river and restore the treatment plant to full operation.

MP to tour galamsey sites

As part of efforts to draw greater public attention to the worsening situation, Dr. Agyemang announced plans to embark on a live media tour of illegal mining sites across the Abuakwa South constituency.

The tour, he said, would provide an opportunity to showcase the extent of environmental degradation and draw attention to the consequences of activities along the Birim River.

He called for stronger measures to halt illegal mining activities along the river, protect the water source and safeguard the long-term water security of communities in the constituency.

“The Birim is our lifeline. We cannot afford to lose it,” the MP stressed. The prolonged shutdown of the Kibi Water Treatment Plant has renewed concerns about the broader consequences of illegal mining on water security, environmental sustainability and public health in mining-affected communities in the Eastern Region.

With the Birim River serving as a critical source of raw water, stakeholders fear that continued pollution and siltation could further undermine efforts to provide reliable potable water to communities in and around Kibi.

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