Water shortage in Accra-Tema being addressed

AQUA VITENS Rand Limited (acting for and on behalf of the 'Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) as the Operator) wishes to inform its consumers on the reasons behind the prevailing water supply situation in the Accra Tema Metropolitan Authority (ATMA) and also measures being taken to improve it.

The Accra- Tema water supply system has been developed over many years and due to urbanisation, a huge supply-demand gap has developed.

The Government, through GWCL, has made a start to address this issue with the expansion of a number of water supply production facilities. Contracts have been signed, work is either on going or about to start, but completion of the construction works takes time. Some projects will be completed this year, but some not until 2008.

This problem gets much worse at this time of the year during Harmattan as demand for water increases. This forces the extension of the already extensive rationing programme, which has recently been disrupted by intermittent and frequent power interruptions at the Headworks and the Booster Stations.

Our records show that the water supply situation in Accra-Tema, as well as other cities and towns, worsens at this time of the year when many consumers who rather depend more on rain water turn to the use of treated water for their household and economic activities including washing of cars and watering of lawns and gardens.

We are very concerned as to the serious nature of the limited water supply in the country, and particularly in Accra. We wish to assure members of the public that we are doing all we can to maximise the usage of water throughout the capital. As the situation in Accra develops, we are reviewing the rationing programme being implemented to try and ensure equity of distribution to allow at least some water to reach all consumers.

In the short term, AVRL - the Operator requests all consumers receiving a good supply to use the water in a conservative way; cease indiscriminate watering of lawns with treated water;
moderate the use of treated water for car washing through the use of buckets instead of hosing;
repair all leakages in the home; report all persons engaged in illegal connections and report any pipe bursts or anyone wantonly wasting water to the nearest GWCL office or ring the AVRL AMTA hotline: 021 774707.

In the medium term, five mechanized boreholes have been commissioned at Dodowa to supply water to Adenta to supplement the supply from Kpong. Presently, interconnections are going on within the Dodowa-Adenta corridor to enable AVRL/GWCL service the communities along that route.

In addition, contracts have just been awarded for the provision of additional pipelines in Adenta and this will hopefully lead to great improvement in water supply service in the area.

Furthermore, the Drilling Unit of GWCL is on site in Dodowa, Madina, Agbogba, Ashongman, Kwabenya, Pokuase, Taifa and Tantra Hills exploring and test drilling selected sites to determine their water bearing potentials. If the yields are proved to be of the right commercial quantity, the boreholes will be mechanised and fed into the distribution system to serve the people in and around these areas.

In addition, GWCL has started the construction of a 68 MLD (million litres per day) water treatment plant at Weija that is to be linked to East Accra. When completed, the project which is being implemented with contribution of ¢20 million from Messrs Scancom Limited, will improve the reliability of water supply to the eastern parts of Accra. Some of the distressed communities to benefit from this project are Adenta, Madina, Legon, Ashalley Botwe and beyond, Nima, Kotobaabi, Accra New Town, Cantonments, Labone, La, Teshie, Ashongman, Dome, Kwabenya and the newly developed settlements along the Nsawam road.

AVRL - the Operator is confident that all these planned and on-going expansion and improvement projects in the metropolis will go a long way to solve the current water shortages.

The cooperation of the general public is greatly appreciated and AVRL - the operator wishes to sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.

Stanley Martey
Public Relations Manager,
AVRL - the Operator