Wa, Feb. 21, GNA - Mr. Alban S. K. Bagbin, Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, has said of about the 985 boreholes water sampled in the Upper West Region, 12.2 per cent have fluoride content above the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline value of less than 1.5 milligram.

This has caused common occurrence of dental fluorosis among the people while there is also the occurrence of localized high iron contents in Lawra= , Nadowli and Jirapa areas.

About 8.6 per cent of 1,090 boreholes water sampled in the entire region had iron contents exceeding WHO guideline value of 0.3 milligrams. Manganese occurs mostly in the north-western part of the region with over 7 per cent of about 985 sampled boreholes having values exceeding the WHO guideline value of 0.4 milligram.

Mr. Bagbin said this at a one day water forum organised by the Ministr= y of Water Resources, Works and Housing in Wa. The forum was to focus on the region and to bring up issues on water and solicit the support of the people of the region to protect, conserve, and utilise the resources in the most efficient manner. He said the region required 2,243 new boreholes in communities with a population range of 75 and 2,000 people and the Ministry was in the process of drawing up a programme of action to provide the required boreholes to cover all the unserved communities within the next two years at an estimate cost of 19,289,800 dollars. Mr. Bagbin said 37 boreholes were to be drilled under the Guinea Worm Eradication Project for 24 guinea worm endemic communities but so far 18 boreholes had been drilled with 17 of them functional. Under Government Priority Project, drilling started for 45 boreholes but to date only three drilling attempts had been made with all being successful.

Construction of 130 boreholes in 166 communities under the New Drilling Project was also started.

He said the government was to provide 2,000 boreholes with hand pumps this year under the 2011 budget.

Mr. Bagbin said contract agreement for the remedial works on the Nadowli, Daffiama, Jirapa and Tumu systems was signed with the respective district assemblies.

He said 10 boreholes were to be drilled at Nadowli and Lawra Districts to benefit 30 communities.

Alhaji Issahaque Salia, Upper West Regional Minister, in a speech rea= d on his behalf, noted that with the surging population of students from the Wa Polytechnic and the Wa Campus of the University for Development Studies, pressure had come to bear on the existing water structures in the Municipality.

He therefore called for alternative measures to provide adequate water for the people while stringent punishment were meted out to offenders who carried out illegal connection of water.

Mr. Ahmed Sorogho Tahiru, Upper West Regional Manager of Ghana Water Company, tasked district assemblies to act to stop the indiscriminate drilling of water by private people for commercial purposes. Some private drilled for water at unhygienic spots and also refused to send their water samples to the company to find its quality before they start to supply the people. He said 17 boreholes had been redeveloped while 19 more boreholes woul= d be drilled with five them mechanised to increase water supply in the municipality.