Water situation in Sekondi-Takoradi to get worse if rains delay

Residents in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis and its adjourning districts will have a regular flow of water running through their taps only when the rains start, the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has said

Currently, the water level of the Pra River at Daboase had reduced significantly, and as such the GWCL was unable to draw enough amount of water for treatment and subsequent distribution.

Similarly, the water level in the Dam at Inchaban had also gone down because there was no freshwater flow into it.

Nana Yaw Barima-Barnie, Western Regional Communication Manager of the GWCL explained to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the company was operating below its minimum operating level of one meter.

“The level has gone below one meter which is the minimum operating level, so ideally, the plant should have been shut down”, he said

However, he stressed that the company was improvising and making use of available techniques to ensure that they continue to produce some amount of water for its customers.

“We are currently in the dry season. And in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis to be specific, whenever we get into the dry season, there is always a problem with getting adequate quantities of raw water to draw for treatment”, he said

This, he said had negatively affected its production, leading to acute water shortage in the Metropolis and affecting homes, educational institutions, and businesses.

“We normally depend on the rain for inflows into the dam as well as the river basin at Daboase. So, when it does not rain, we are unable to get adequate quantities of the raw water for treatment. Unfortunately, that is the situation we have to grapple with”, he added.

In that regard, Nana Barima-Barnie hoped that the rains would come for the water levels to rise to be able to produce and distribute enough water to its customers in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis and its environs.

He also spoke about how illegal mining (Galamsey) has had a considerable negative effect on the operations of the company which often worsened in the dry season.

Due to the activities of the galamsey, he said “sand accumulate and prevent us from drawing water, the sand also gets into the pumps and therefore they break down”.

“There is an increase in the cost of treatment because of the deteriorated nature of the water. The water so deteriorates that we need to spend more chemicals to be able to treat the same amount of water”, Barima-Barnie mentioned.

He mentioned plans to build a new treatment plant at Daboase which he said would kick start in the coming months.

Nana Barima-Barnie said the new treatment plant to be built at Daboase would be able to pump approximately 22.2 million gallons of water a day.

He advised the residents to exercise patience and judiciously use the small water the company was able to supply and that they should desist from using treated water to wash cars and water lawns.