The management of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has recently revealed some of the challenges it faces in its effort to effectively supply water to residents in the Greater Accra Region.
According to a statement released by the GWCL which indicated that it produces a total of 150 million gallons of water supply to Accra per day.
Residents in some parts of Accra,which includes Adenta, Kasoa, Weija, and Apaapa in La, have voiced concerns about the irregular water supply.
This situation, the residents claim, has adversely impacted their daily lives, forcing some to resort to purchasing water from tankers at exorbitant prices.
The Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL). Ing Dr. Clifford Braimah, while speaking in an interview stated that “Production of water supply to Accra is 150 million gallons per day or 682,000 cubic meters per day.”
He however blamed the lapses in water supply on an unplanned problem encountered at the Kpong and Weija Water Treatment Plants.
“The recent problem was an unplanned issue at Kpong [Treatment Plant] and that of Weija [Water Treatment Plant]. There are very old pumps that have been trying to manage, and they normally break down at Weija. At Kpong, after the flooding due to the Akosombo dam spillage, there was a weed blockage. Everything is normalized now, and the challenge has been resolved,” the Managing Director of GWCL said.
He bemoaned the tampering with the pipelines by some customers, lack of capital, and overpopulation as challenges the water company faces.
“Together with the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), we should be able to move to the government and say that there must be some level of injection of capital. We will have to make a proper case that the gap will be closed. If they leave it to us, some people will not pay their tariffs, some will get people who will do illegal connections. Once they do the illegal connections, they don’t take into consideration our hydraulic system. These are the challenges we are faced with.”
He called for the reform of the old system as most of the tools and materials have become obsolete over time.
“We need to retool the old system; if you go to Kpong Treatment Plant today, we have pumps that are as old as 1965. For the regulator, it’s dead. Because we are still using them, we take money to repair them when they break down. So, renewal of the old system,” he stated.
The Managing Director of GWCL indicated that the population of Accra has outgrown the capacity of the water company.
