The Korle Lagoon in Distress: The Stress

of Urban Solid Waste on Water Bodies in Accra, Ghana

AGLANU MAWULI LESLIE

KAAD-Wasser-Seminar: “Wasserwirtschaft im klimatischen und gesellschaftlichen Wandel”

Karlsruhe, 26.-29.5.2015

Introduction

Water resources come in different forms and have multiple uses ranging from aquatic biome to livelihood activities for humans.

The rapid urbanization in coastal areas

The Korle Lagoon is rapidly loosing its lagoon status

Solid Waste/Marine debris Solid waste is any persistent manufactured or processed solid

material which is discarded, disposed-off, or abandoned in the environment, also called marine debris, if dumped or generated in the marine environment.

Sources of Marine Debris

1. Poorly managed/illegal waste dumps adjacent to water bodies

2. Windblown litter

3. Run-offs

4. Municipal storm water and drainage systems

5. Direct waste disposal

What constitutes high quality, clean water?

In nature, pure water does not actually exist.

The types of minerals and chemicals found in water depends on:

Persisting human activities Precipitation Runoff Surrounding vegetation and wildlife Geologic formations and soil type

Profile of the Study Area

• Located to the south-west of the central business district of Accra within longitude 05°35'N and latitude 00°06'W

• Estimated to drain a total catchment area of 400 km2

• The lagoon covers a total surface area of about 0.6 km2 and stretches for about 2.8 km in length

• The major basin for floodwaters and run-offs in the metropolis

Uncontrolled/Unplanned Urbanisation The catchment of the Korle lagoon has

been associated with high population and intensive land use

About 60 percent of the Metropolis of Accra lives in the catchment with a population density of 250 persons per hectare

Development of slums and squatters on the lagoons fringes.

The Lagoon is heavily silted, the outlet is often blocked by solid waste.

Although a Ramsar conservation sites, the Korle lagoon has become a natural depression that serves as a cesspool for most of the city's industrial and human waste and has been referred to as an environmental nightmare.

The Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project

Results: Physico-Chemical Analysis of the Korle Lagoon

The Korle lagoon’s hydrographical basin overlaps with a large extension of Accra, bringing most of the city’s waste into the lagoon.

Inhabitants and industries located within the catchment of the lagoon have resulted to indiscriminate waste disposal

E-waste is being extracted and dumped on the fringes of the Lagoon

Siting of a sewage outfall and a treatment plant for septic tank effluent east and west of the mouth of the lagoon.

Results… cont.

Conclusions Most landfills in Ghana are primarily open dumps without

leachate or gas recovery systems. Several are located in ecological or hydrological sensitive areas and are generally sited based on considerations of access to collection vehicles rather than hydrological or public health considerations.

The shallowness and grossly polluted state of the lagoon has rendered it unsuitable for navigation, recreation or even fishing which according to historical evidence, used to support commercial fisheries and other socio-economic activities

Aglanu, M. L. and Appiah, D.O. 2014. The Korle Lagoon in Distress: The Stress of Urban Solid Waste on Water Bodies in Accra, Ghana. International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies. ISSN 2028-9324 Vol. 7 No. 2, pp. 717-728

MEG 9 Students Organized Event “Water Conflict and Justice”

www.drop-by-drop.org/the-movies