The Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Nana Ama Brown Klutse, has revealed that an estimated $35 million will be required to fully rehabilitate the heavily polluted Birim River.
Professor Klutse disclosed this in an interview with Citi News on Tuesday, 24 February 2026, during a pilot application of ionic nano copper technology at Kyebi-Adukrom in the Eastern Region.
She explained that while initial results from the pilot project show visible improvement in treated portions of the river, extending the intervention across the entire stretch of the Birim River would require substantial financial resources.
“It took us about $200,000 to procure an amount that will clean one kilometre of every flowing river body. Birim River is about 175 kilometres, so you can do the mathematics we are talking about $35 million,” she said.
According to the EPA boss, approximately $200,000 is needed to acquire sufficient quantities of the technology to clean one kilometre of a flowing river body.
Professor Klutse noted that although the pilot has produced promising results within a short period, sustained funding will be necessary to restore the river to acceptable environmental standards.
The Birim River has experienced extensive degradation in recent years due to illegal mining activities, which have affected water quality, disrupted aquatic ecosystems and impacted access to safe water for nearby communities.
