World Vision International (WVI) has held a seminar on water quality monitoring in Bolgatanga where it showcased to stakeholders, its Regional Water Quality laboratory.

The Laboratory is located in the Savelugu (25km north of Tamale) in northern Ghana and it currently undertakes water quality testing for World Vision Integrated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene promotion projects in Ghana, Mali and Niger.

Participants at the seminar came from the Sachet Water Producers, Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Food and Drug Authority and the Ghana Standard Authority.

The objectives of the seminar was to showcase the resources of the Regional Water Quality Laboratory, shared experiences and lessons of the organisation’s water quality monitoring activities as they pertain to safe drinking water provision and to forge collaboration with partners in safe drinking water quality provision and monitoring.

The stakeholders at the seminar particularly the sachet water producers expressed happiness about the presence of such a Laboratory at a relatively close distance which would reduce the trouble they go through when they want to have their water tested.

Mr Jarvis Abonana Ayamsegna, Water Quality Specialist of WVI, said the Regional Water Quality Laboratory which was commissioned on November 1, 2011 has the State-of-the-art equipment to do water quality analysis and monitoring including major ions analyses, trace (heavy) metals analyses, microbiological analyses, high and appropriate human resource capacity to build and/or enhance the capacity of others.

The laboratory analyzes for twenty (20) trace (heavy) metals. It is also does detail major and minor ions analyses.

“The Centre also carries out community sensitisation on water quality and health related issues and outreach campaigns to district assemblies, produces high quality data that are accurate, reliable and adequate for the intended purpose.

“It builds capacity and provides technical support to the water projects and partners design, develop and implement the installation of locally amenable appropriate water quality improvement technologies and collaborate in investigating the sources, genesis and geochemistry of groundwater Water”, Mr Ayamsegna said.

The Regional Engineer of Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Mr William Nyarko, said about 90 per cent of water for use in the rural communities and small towns comes from the groundwater sources adding that the establishment of such a laboratory will augment the existing water quality testing facilities in the Upper East Region and improve the rate and quality of analytical activities.

He said high fluoride concentrations in groundwater sources in the Region was of serious concern and required a concerted effort by all stakeholders to find and implement affordable and sustainable treatment systems to improve the quality of water from sources with this challenge.

Mr Sebastian Hotor, Senior Regulatory Officer of the Food and Drug Authority (FDA), said that the Authority will not compromise on the quality and safety of all products that have been defined by law as food and sold out for human consumption.

He expressed the willingness and readiness of the Authority to engage and collaborate with the laboratory in the area of water analyses.

Ms Benedicta Pealore, Operation Base Team Leader of WVI in charge of Upper East, said Water, Sanitation and Hygiene was a strategic objective of the organisation and entreated the stakeholders to patronise the facility to help curb water born related diseases.