[3] The Akosombo Dam was called "the largest single investment in the economic development plans of Ghana.

[6] The flooding that created the Lake Volta reservoir displaced many people and had a significant impact on the local environment,[7] including seismic activity that led to coastal erosion; a changed hydrology caused microclimatic changes with less rain and higher temperatures.

The soil surrounding the lake is less fertile than the soil under it, and heavy agricultural use has required the use of fertilizers, which in turn has led to eutrophication, which caused, among others, the explosive growth of an invasive weed that renders water navigation and transportation difficult, and form a habitat for the vectors of water-borne illnesses such as bilharzia, river blindness and malaria.

Resettlement of the displaced inhabitants proved complex and in some cases unsuccessful; traditional farming practices disappeared and poverty increased.

President Kwame Nkrumah adopted the Volta River hydropower project[4] and commissioned Australian architect Kenneth Scott to design a residence for him overlooking the dam.

The reservoir created by the dam, Lake Volta, has a capacity of 148 km3 (120,000,000 acre⋅ft) and a surface area of 8,502 km2 (3,283 sq mi).

The smelter received its financial investment from Valco shareholders, with the support of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

However, Valco did not invest without first requiring insurances from Ghana's government, such as company exemptions from taxes on trade and discounted purchases of electricity.

[16]The dam provides electricity to Ghana and its neighboring West African countries, including Togo and Benin.

The Ghana government was compelled, by contract, to pay for over 50% of the cost of Akosombo's construction, but the country was allowed only 20% of the power generated.

In recent years the production from the Valco plant has declined with the vast majority of additional capacity in Akosombo used to service growing domestic demand.

[18] In the beginning of 2007, concerns were expressed over the electricity supply from the dam because of low water levels in the Lake Volta reservoir.

[7] The nutrient enrichment, in combination with the low water movement, has allowed for the invasion of aquatic weeds (Ceratophyllum).

The weeds provide the necessary habitat for black-fly, mosquitoes and snails, which are the vectors of water-borne illnesses such as bilharzia, river blindness and malaria.

[2] The physical health of local communities has been diminished from this loss of shellfish populations, as they provided an essential source of dietary protein.

Commercial sex work was established in response to the thousands of male workers that were in the area for building the dam.

[2] The extensive human migration and degradation of natural resources within the Volta-basin area, are the products of poverty in conjunction with population pressure.

All of these larger scale environmental impacts will all further compound the problems surrounding disruptions to local economic activities and associated, difficult human welfare conditions.

[7] A case study by the International Federation of Surveyors has indicated that the dam has had a significant impact on the shoreline erosion of the barrier separating the Keta Lagoon from the sea.

[24] On 15 September 2023, the Volta River Authority (VRA) initiated a controlled spillage of water from the Akosombo and Kpong dams situated in the Eastern Region.

This controlled spillage led to flooding in communities located along the lower Volta Basin leading to power interruptions.