Stanley Martey
THE GHANA Water Company Limited (GWCL) has indicated its customers in some parts of the country, particularly Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Western and the Northern regions may encounter irregular flow of water due to the depletion of various water bodies.
The company, in a recent statement issued, said trees that surrounded the water bodies have also been cut down, hence the depletion of the water bodies and its resolve to such measures.
“With the onset of the dry season, the entire country is expected to experience challenges with water supply because of the depletion of raw water from the various water bodies,” the statement said.
Stanley Martey, Head of Communications at GWCL, commenting on News Desk on Joy News Monday, explained, “Trees that give our water bodies cover have all been cut away because of farming activities. We are also aware that the pollution in our water bodies has silted most of our water bodies and such rate of evaporation is high, and we do not have huge volumes of water in our water bodies.”
He said management has, therefore, called on consumers to cooperate in this regard to minimise the impact of the situation as GWCL could not determine when the unreliable supply could end.
“For now, because of the climatic changes as we know, it is a bit difficult to determine whether it will end in a month or two. The Ghana Water Company Limited has put in resilient measures and we also expect that consumers will also play their role so together we can minimise the impact.”
To help check the situation, management of GWCL has further called on customers to avoid the indiscriminate watering of lawns with treated water, moderate the use of treated water for car washing by resorting to the use of buckets, instead of hosing, shut all taps when not in use, repair all leakages in homes like overflowing reservoirs and dripping taps, valves, etc, and report all burst pipes and leakages immediately to the nearest GWCL District Offices, Customer Service Centres and Fault Offices.
It also urged members of the public to report all persons engaged in illegal connections, by-passes, and all malpractices against GWCL.
GWCL added, “You can also send google GPS locations, pictures and videos of the burst and leakages to the GWCL. The GWCL has currently resorted to Water Demand Management to ensure equitable distribution of the water from the various treatment plants. All District Offices have been requested to announce to customers, days on which water will be flowing so customers can store water.”
“Management of GWCL is very much concerned about the impact of the dry season on the raw water sources, which has been compounded by the excessive pollution of the water bodies and wish to assure the public that, the company, together with the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, and allied ministries, are working assiduously to improve on raw water resources in the country,” it said.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke