Although the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) is doing its best to solve the current problem of water shortage in various parts of the country, the situation still persists.
The Tema branch of GWCL has blamed the water challenges being experienced by residents in the township on low water levels.
According to the Distribution Engineer for the Tema Region, Mac-Doe Hanyabui, the challenge is peculiar to settlements on high lands.
He said, “For the Tema township, communities 7, 3 and 4 seem to be some of the highest points in Tema but what actually happened was that in an attempt to do water management, we try to do an interconnection. On Wednesday, we set Tema out completely and did the interconnection so that on Friday, we can pump water to the system to Tema.”
“By pumping, we’ll get the water to the people faster but that delayed and caused a lot of instability in the system so if someone is not getting water, it’s understandable. We have resorted to our normal supply schedule but because the water comes by gravity, the low lying areas will get the water first.”
In the North
In the Northern Region, the Manager in charge of the Company Amidu Musah says although the GWCL is producing at full capacity, it would not be able to adequately provide for residents in Tamale facing water challenges.
According to him, the dry season is putting a lot of pressure on GWCL as other alternative water sources for residents have dried up.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr. Musah advised residents to use water judiciously.
“Unfortunately, we are producing at full capacity. My advice is that around this time, we all have to use water more efficiently. We shouldn’t wash our cars with hose, water our lawns, etc, so that the little we have, we can all manage,” he stated.
In Accra
Meanwhile, the Accra West Branch of the Ghana Water Company Limited has begun a rationing system to address the acute water shortage that has hit some areas under its jurisdiction.
This comes after residents of Dansoman and its environs raised concerns over the non-availability of water for some time now.
Reacting to the concerns in a Citi News interview, Distribution Manager for the branch, Edward Kwabena Agyekum attributed the problem to the geographical location of the affected areas.
“We also met and we agreed that at the hilly areas, if we allow the water, it will be flowing at the low land. So we have centred the hilly areas and we are even doing rationing. We started yesterday and today the information I’m getting is okay. If we look at Chorkor, we have some parts that are low land. Some parts are on the hilly area. So we have identified the hilly areas and started the rationing so maybe just a few of them may be having the challenges.”
However, in all of this, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Water Company Limited, Dr Clifford Braimah, insists his outfit is doing its possible best to ensure that Ghanaians have water flowing through their taps.
He said factors such as obsolete pipes and unplanned settlements are to blame for the challenges.