REVIEW PAPER ON THE IMPACT OF LAND USE LAND COVER CHANGE ON WATER QUALITY.

Geography; Environmental Science

Anthropogenic activities/development such as mining, settlement, tourism and agriculture continues to exert pressure on the quality of surface water, most importantly in the tropical regions like Ghana. In view of this, the paper sought to review the impacts of land use land cover change resulting from anthropogenic activities on the water quality of river basins. It was established that, the location of land use activity whether close to the water body or remote do affect the quality of water so far as it is carried out within the water basin. The level and trend of water quality degradation within a water body is a factor of the intensity of land use within the basin. Land use change especially agriculture intensification and settlement/residential areas is perhaps the most salient signature of human activities on both terrestrial and aquatic environment. It is therefore recommended that there should be constant study and monitoring of the quality of water by an appropriate scientific agencies like the Water Resource Commission (WRC), Ghana Standard Authority (GSA) or an NGO like Water Aid to protect and sustain the health of the rivers and their resources in Ghana.

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