Water Crisis: Residents fear possible cholera outbreak

The recent water shortage in the Greater Accra, Western and Eastern regions is causing a lot of fear and panic among residents in these areas.

The three regions have been without water for weeks. People have had to trek miles in search of potable water.

At Nsawam Adoagyiri in the Eastern region where a reservoir which supplies water to the area has gone low, residents have had to resort to the polluted Densu River for water.

Water from the river is used for cooking and drinking. It is the same river in which residents do their laundry and feed their animals from.

One resident told Joy News that although the water is sometimes boiled before it is used, not everyone does this.

“It is the same water we use to wash, other people bath in it with soap. Some people don’t even boil it, they just drink it like that,” one resident told Joy News’ Emefa Atiamoah when she visited the area last week.

Matilda Wemegah was in the community this morning and reports that residents fear an outbreak of cholera as food vendors use polluted water from streams and ponds to cook.

Although there is yet to be a reported case of cholera, the residents are calling on government to, as a matter of urgency, address the water situation before it gets out of hand.

The Principal Nursing Officer at the Nsawam Health Directorate, Christiana Obeng indicated that although National security through the Assembly is supplying water to some health facilities, others have had to buy their own water.

Matilda also gathered that Member of Parliament for the area has supplied two other health centres with poly tanks.

In the Ningo Prampram district of the Greater Accra region, school children are having to walk long distances in search of water before attending classes.

Assemblyman for the area, Francis Tei Addotsu told Joy News the only source of water in the community has dried up.

“When you covered the water situation previously it looked like it was worse but this time it is the worst. Now the water is dried up and people have had to dig into the pond to get water from the pond.

“We called the water company and they came to fix a standpipe but nothing is coming out of it,” he added.

According to him, some teachers have threatened to leave the town due to the crisis.

The situation is no different in the Western Region. The pollution of the Pra River has forced the Ghana Water Company to ration water.

This is getting on the nerves of the residents who say they deserve to have water at all times due to the increases in water tariffs.

The Ghana Water Company has indicated that the problems are largely due of the harmattan which is drying up water sources.

“We are not getting the water, sometimes the taps don’t flow about a week or two yet the bills that come is outrageous,” one resident said.

Head of Communications at Ghana Water Stanley Martey told Joy News in an interview that until the rains come in, there is nothing they can do to solve the problem.