Water crisis hit Tumu … as VRA cuts water supply to treatment plant

A water crisis has hit the residents of Tumu in the Sissala East District of the Upper West Region, following the decision by the Volta River Authority (VRA) to cut power supply to the water treatment plant, because the Tumu Water Board owed it GH¢80,000.

Intelligence picked by The Chronicle, has it that the Tumu Water Board, a committee that streamlines the Community Water System, which relies on the Volta River Authority (VRA) for power to serve the entire Tumu community water, has failed to honour promises to pay the debt.

The repercussion is that, the Community Water System, which supplies water to the entire community through a reservoir is not running, because there is no electricity supply to the pumps.

The debt, which has been outstanding since 2011, forced the VRA to change the meter to the plant from post-paid to pre-paid, but the Water Supply Board is struggling to by credit to access the power.

Some of the residents lamented that for the past five months their pipes have been dry, and not a single drop of water has come out of their taps. According to them, they only depend on private water tanker services for water, which cost them GH¢120 a month.

“If they (Water Board) think what we are paying is inadequate, then they should let us pay [a] realistic amount for the water, because the private water tanker services are quite expensive,” one of the residents told The Chronicle.

Mr Abdul Rahman Yakubu, a resident who also spoke to The Chronicle, said he owes the Water Board GH¢60, for three months.  He, however, vowed not to pay, because they failed to provide them (the residents) with water after he had paid his previous bill.

He stressed: “It is better to buy water from the private tanker services than paying water bill which is full of uncertainties.”

He said some residents can afford to pay GH¢40 for tanker water services, or 25 gallons of water for GH¢15, but for those who don't have the money will have to go far to get water.

A VRA worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to The Chronicle, said the debt owed by the Water Board was hampering their activities, leaving them no option than to cut power supply to the Tumu township.

The Tumu Town Council Chairman, Bagon Luri, was worried over the water shortage. He further explained that although the District Assembly also bought new pumps to replace faulty ones, the system is still ineffective, because the board can't buy units to power the machines.

Mr. Luri called on Tumu residents to stay calm, and appealed to all stakeholders, the District Assembly, non-governmental organisations, business owners and the public to help fix the problem, because the board alone cannot do it.

From Musah Umar Farouq, Tumu