Management of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has addressed challenges faced in ensuring a consistent water supply to residents in the Greater Accra Region.
The company stated that its production of water supply to Accra is 150 million gallons per day.
However, residents in various parts of Accra have raised concerns about irregular water supply, affecting their daily lives and leading some to purchase water from tankers at high prices.
GWCL acknowledged the need for upgrades to meet the increasing demands of Accra’s growing population. The company also recognized that some complaints were related to localized faults that could be promptly addressed when reported.
During an interview on Citi FM, the Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Ing. Dr. Clifford Braimah, said, “Production of water supply to Accra is 150 million gallons per day or 682,000 cubic meters per day.”
Ing. Dr. Clifford Braimah attributed the shortfall in water supply to 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.
Ing. Dr. Clifford Braimah highlighted several challenges faced by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), including tampering with pipelines by some customers, lack of capital, and overpopulation.
“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 retooling of the old system, which has become obsolete, suggesting that some pumps need to be changed.
“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.