E/R: Galamsey, road projects affecting provision of potable water – GWCL

The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) says continuous activities of illegal miners and some road contractors undertaking various road projects in the Eastern Region is affecting their smooth operations in supplying potable water to communities.

Last week GWCL shut down the Kyebi treatment plant due to high turbidity as a result of activities of illegal miners operating along the Birim River.

According to the water company, these activities and that of road contractors who are destroying pipes of the water company as they work on roads in the region have become a major challenge for the company.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the GWCL in the Eastern Region, Kwadwo Daase called on the government to streamline the activities of the illegal miners to curtail further difficulties.

“The most challenging issues we have at the moment have to do with galamsey activities at the water bodies especially at the Birim river where we have four of our plants taking their source from that river.”

“So the situation is such that, as and when the water gets bad, we have to suspend our operations and wait till it gets better. For instance when we start working in the morning, somewhere in the afternoon to the evening, then the quality will deteriorate and force us to shut down the plants and wait for it to get better.”

Kwadwo Daase further appealed to contractors working on projects in the region to cooporate with them and report any destruction of their pipes to the Ghana Water Company Limited when such occurs.

“In most parts of the regions, we have issues with contractors, with some cutting our pipelines, and it affects the quality of our service to our cherished customers. A contractor goes to the site to work and because our pipelines are lying by the roads, they damage our lines in the process of executing their work.”

“It is really a bother to us, and it is all over in areas like Koforidua, Nkawkaw, Akuapem areas, and other parts. So as much as we appreciate that we are in the year of roads and contractors are busily doing their jobs, we also want them to exercise a bit of caution. The most aspect is when they destroy our lines, they don’t even inform us until we start getting complaints from areas that are not getting water.”

---citinewsroom