Ghana Water Limited (GWL) has warned that extensive forest degradation around the Barekese Dam in the Ashanti Region is threatening the water supply to the Greater Kumasi metropolis.

More than 50% of the forest cover surrounding the dam has been destroyed, causing severe siltation that has reduced the reservoir's storage capacity by nearly 30%.

The Barekese Dam supplies over 22 million gallons of potable water daily to Kumasi and its surrounding communities. However, its sustainability is pressured by human activities within its buffer zones, including:

- Illegal logging

- Indiscriminate farming

- Bush burning

- Sand winning

- Expanding human settlements

According to GWL, the loss of forest cover has accelerated soil erosion, washing large volumes of sediment into the reservoir. This has lowered raw water quality by increasing turbidity and eutrophication.

Hanson Mensah Akutteh, Chief Manager of the Ashanti Production Region for GWL, warned that the water source could eventually dry up completely if immediate action is not taken.

In response, GWL has partnered with the Forestry Commission and the Atwima Nwabiagya South District Assembly for a large-scale tree planting initiative.

Staff, local officials, and students from Barekese Senior High School planted over 5,000 indigenous and commercial tree seedlings — including mahogany, cedrela, and ofram — on degraded lands around the reservoir.

Dr Akutteh explained that restoring the forest ecosystem will reduce evaporation, naturally filter the water to ease the burden on treatment plants, and enhance climate resilience by regulating local temperatures and rainfall patterns.

The initiative aligns with Ghana's national tree planting campaign.

Abraham Essel, the Nkawie District Manager of the Forestry Commission, emphasised that safeguarding the dam's catchment area requires collective institutional and community action to avert a future water crisis in Ghana's second-largest city.