By Stephen Asante
Accra, Sept 16, GNA-The Water Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-WRI) says a study of the groundwater levels and recharge in the Densu River Basin has shown a declining trend.
The study, spanning 2020 to 2023, identified an upward trend in groundwater abstractions, increasing stress on the resource, the water research scientists noted.
“Scenario analysis reveals abstractions at the current rate over 20 years without changes to recharge rate, pose risks to stream flows and ecosystems, especially under drier climate conditions.” Mr Bismark Awinbire Akurugu, a research scientist of the CSIR-WRI’s Groundwater and Geoscience Division, cautioned.
He was presenting a paper on the topic, “Assessing the potential impacts of abstractions and recharge using numerical groundwater flow modelling for the Densu River Basin, Ghana”, at a science engagement workshop, in Accra.
Densu, one of the resourceful river bodies rising in the Atewa Range, supplies substantial quantity of the drinking water to Ghana’s capital city of Accra. The River Basin covers three regions, comprising Greater Accra, Central and Eastern.
The workshop, held under the auspices of the CSIR-WRI, aimed to introduce the Danish-funded project, “Building Climate-Resilience into Basin Water Management – CREAM”, to new heads and technical leads in the stakeholder institutions that the project has engaged over the years.
It highlighted tools and data developed by the project, shared in brief key results, and fostered dialogue among stakeholders for inclusive and data-informed water governance.
The CREAM project, implemented in the Pra and Densu River Basins by a consortium of nine partners led by the CSIR-WRI, aims to build climate resilience into basin water management in Ghana.
The concept is to integrate climate change scenarios, land use and land cover changes, and shared socio-economic pathways into water management decisions and practices.
Over the period of implementation (2019-2025), the project has worked closely with key stakeholders in the water, environment and agriculture sectors at the National and Basin levels, and co-developed significant outputs (results, data and tools).
The outcome could guide government ministries and agencies, Non-Governmental Organisations, civil society organisations, research organisations and academia, to inform and improve current basin water decisions, management and research.
Mr Akurugu, in his presentation, demonstrated how groundwater contributed significantly to streamflow.
However, this was vulnerable to abstraction and climate variability, he noted, and drew attention to how the increasing rate of unregulated borehole drilling was putting stress on the Densu River Basin.
Consequently, there was the need to strengthen the enforcement of groundwater abstraction laws through collaboration between the Water Resources Commission and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, he advised.
Additionally, it is important to improve documentation and monitoring of abstraction rates across the Basin, limit annual abstraction to below 24.5 million mÂł/year to safeguard recharge and streamflow.
“When properly constructed, calibrated, and validated, numerical models can serve as powerful decision-support tools for effective water resource management,” the researh scientist advised.
The CSIR-WRI’s Groundwater and Geoscience Division is also recommending the Protection of recharge zones, and exploring managed aquifer recharge options.
Dr Emmanuel Obuobie, Principal Investigator of the CREAM Project, speaking at the science engagement workshop, said the project activities included media engagement with the Basin population, secondary school outreach, and project reporting.
On the outputs, he said, some two hundred students, as well as fifty teachers of five secondary schools in the Pra and Densu Basins had been educated on climate monitoring, climate change adaptation and water management.
Sixty new stakeholders have also been introducd to the CREAM Project and trained in the use of data, tools and methodologies developed by the Project.
Papers presented at the science engagement workshop covered areas such as ‘Water-Related Ecosystem Services Dynamics in the Densu River Basin’, and ‘Economic Valuation and Risk Perceptions of Water-Related Ecosystem Services in Pra and Densu River Basins in Ghana’.
The rest are ‘Introducing the Water Resource Dashboard for Multi-Sectoral Decisions’, and ‘Modelling the Influence of Climate and Land Use Changes on the Hydrology of the Pra River Basin using the SWAT Model’.
GNA
16 Sept. 2025
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong