For over 3 decades now, the Guma Valley Water Company has been championing the issue of forest conservation in the Western Area Peninsula Park. This is because the forests and our water sources are closely intertwined; water is essential for life and forests are essential for water.
Studies have demonstrated that for every 1% of forest cover that is lost an equivalent amount of water supply vanishes or is lost. As the demand for water increases with rapid population growth in Freetown, the threat to the health and well-being of Freetown residents is looming and frightening.
The deforestation and clearing of land for housing development at Banga Farm Sussex and the Guma Dam Trail at the No. 2 River Community has the tendency to expose the Guma Dam; which supplies over 90% of potable water to Freetown, to severe climate change impacts.
Over the past few years, Guma Valley has been working with the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Water Catchments, Mangroves and Wetlands together with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Water Resources Management Agency (NWRMA), National Protected Area Authority (NPAA) and the Catholic Relief Services (CRS); which is implementing the Water Fund for the conservation of the Western Area National Forest Park, to restore the lost environment in respect to the mangroves, wetlands and forests (water catchments).
Guma Valley Water Company is presently also working with the National Water Resources Management Agency (NWRMA), World Food Program (WFP) and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA Nigeria), to secure the necessary funding to better protect and rehabilitate the Western Area Peninsula Park; which is the main source of water resources for the Western Area.
The Guma Dam at Mile 13 is located 862 feet above sea level with very good quantity of raw and quality water; the elevation of the dam allows Guma Valley to send water supply from Mile 13 to Wellington without use of electrical energy, thereby making the cost of production very low.
