Tano River 'poisoned'; stay way - NADMO warns

The notice to the communities was given because the water has been poisoned.

In a statement issued on Monday, January 13, 2020, the District NADMO Coordinator, Mamoa Elijah, said the order was necessitated by an accident at Tanoso in the Bono East Region, involving an articulated truck carrying car batteries.

According to reports, the articulated truck was said to be transporting the batteries from the Kumasi area in the Ashanti Region to Burkina Faso, when it fell into the Tano River at Techiman-Tanoso.

The accident is said to have occurred directly opposite the Ghana Water Company treatment plant at Techiman-Tanoso

As a result of the accident, the acid in the batteries diluted into the water, culminating in the death of several aquatic mammals including fishes and crocodiles.

This, therefore, makes it harmful for human consumption.

However, officials of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service have confirmed the accident and explained that at about 8.30 am on Monday [January 13, 2020], a DAF cargo truck with Burkina Faso registration number 11KJ9312-BF, carrying 2500 gallons of sulphuric acid and an unspecified quantity of shovels from Tema to Burkina Faso plunged into the river.

According to the police, the cargo truck while ascending a hill on reaching Tanoso reversed and eventually fell into the Tano River resulting in some of the chemicals pouring into the river.