Adomfe water: Scientists can’t confirm healing power but say it’s good drinking water
A sample of water from a borehole at Adomfe in the Asante Akyem South District in the Ashanti Region has been scientifically tested and proven to be hard water, of good quality and safe for drinking.
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The scientific test was undertaken by the Departments of Theoretical and Applied Biology, and Environmental Science and Chemistry, both of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), in Kumasi.
Although the KNUST scientists were unable to confirm claims of healing power attributed to the borehole water, they nevertheless noted that the high content of calcium and the hardness of the water could be the contributory factor to its healing potency.
That notwithstanding, the result of the test, which was signed by Prof. K. Obiri-Danso,
Food/Environmental Microbiologist, has strengthened the belief of Adomfeman and many people, far and near, in the healing power of the water, as they continue to give testimonies to that effect.
Before the scientific test, many people who drank the borehole water claimed they had been healed of various illnesses, and their testimonies spread like wildfire, as people from all walks of life trooped to Adomfe to fetch some of the ‘healing’ water.
Adomfehene healed of stroke
The Chief of Adomfe, Okofrobuor Adomfe Agyei II, was the first person to have attested to the healing power of the borehole water when, after drinking the water for two weeks, he was healed of a stroke that had rendered him bedridden for two years.
He told the Daily Graphic at Adomfe last Friday that he did not even need a scientific test to affirm his belief in the healing power of the borehole water after his personal experience.
“A dose of this water keeps all doctors away for so many months. I, Okofrobuor, the stroke patient, I am the one sitting here now,” he remarked.
Okofrobuor Adomfe Agyei said at age 74, he did not fear to enter the bedroom with his wife at night, just because of the potency of the borehole water, and urged men to drink the water to bear personal witness to his assertion.
KNUST scientific test
The Asante Akyem South District Assembly had taken a sample from the Adomfe borehole to KNUST for testing in order to be sure about the claim of its hardness and healing power.
Two tests were conducted – a microbiological analysis and a physicochemical analysis – and the results of both were positive.
“The Adomfe borehole water is of good quality. The sample is microbiologically safe for drinking. It conforms to WHO Guidelines and Ghana Standards (GS) 175-1:2009,” the results of the test indicate.
It adds: “The Adomfe borehole water sample meets the physicochemical quality requirement for drinking water based on the WHO and Ghana Standards (GS) 175-1:2009 for drinking water quality parameters”.
The report said although there was a claim to the healing power of the borehole water, “as scientists, we are unable to confirm the claim scientifically”.
“However, the high Calcium (31.69mg/L) and Water Hardness (44.72mg/L) content could be contributory factors as both are known to play a role in neuromuscular excitability (decreases it) and also prevent cardiovascular diseases,” the report noted.
Perhaps, it was based on such conviction that the KNUST scientists, although they were unable to scientifically confirm the claim about the healing power of the water, were said to have requested gallons of it to be delivered to them upon the release of the results.
Potency of hard water
The analyses by the KNUST scientists corroborate other scientific studies which indicate that hard water contains relatively high levels of calcium, magnesium and other metals that provide enormous health benefits.
According to information gleaned from a website on chemistry: http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu, “Calcium is a critical component of bone, and has many positive effects on the body, as well as the prevention of serious life-threatening and painful ailments like osteoporosis, kidney stones, hypertension, stroke, obesity and coronary artery disease”.
“Magnesium also has positive health effects because inadequate amounts of magnesium in the body increase the risks for health problems, such as hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, coronary heart disease, and diabetes mellitus”.
New developments at Adomfe
Last Wednesday, Adomfeman reportedly greeted with a rapturous applause, the announcement of the results of the test by the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Asante Akyem South, Mr De-graft Fokuo, at a mini durbar at the chief’s palace.
When the Daily Graphic visited Adomfe last Friday, two days after that announcement, the pulse of the town was still beating fast with excitement, as some people even took the liberty of Christening the borehole water variously as “Adomfe Healing Water”, “Adomfe Nhyira Nsuo” and “Adomfe Agyenkwa Nsuo”.
The four-page scientific test report by KNUST was the hottest commodity in town, as residents and visitors grabbed copies for GH¢1 and waved them with glee in confirmation of their belief in the healing power of the water.
At the borehole site, the long queues that were witnessed on the first visit of the Daily Graphic early last February was absent, although patronage was still high.
The improvement was due to the gesture of a philanthropist, Barima Yaw, who donated a big water tank, pumping machine and three water taps to enhance the flow of the water and quick service to anxious patrons.
Barima Yaw, a native of Bompata, near Adomfe, said in a telephone interview that when he first visited Adomfe to get some of the water and saw the long queues, he felt the need to provide that support to make things easy for people who went there to get water for their healing.
Taxi and trotro drivers who ply the Adomfe-Asankare and Adomfe-Konongo routes, said there was a big boom in business as a result of the large number of people visiting Adomfe for the borehole water.
DCE’s advice
The DCE said in an interview at Juaso that it was good to do the scientific test to set all minds at ease, adding, “So for us we have achieved the purpose of testing the water”.
Mr Fokuo advised people who claim to have been healed of various illnesses after drinking the water to endeavour to confirm such claims at the hospital so that their healing would be completely assured.
That is because what may be good for someone, may not be good for another person.
Mr Fokuo said the borehole was a windfall for Adomfe and he advised the managers of the facility to manage it well, account for the revenue accruing from its sale and use the money to develop Adomfe for the benefit of the people.
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Watch the Adomfe chief testifying about the 'healing borehole water'
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