The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has announced that some parts of the country will experience water supply in moderation.
According to the Company, this is due to the impact of the dry season the country is currently experiencing, which has resulted in the depletion of water. It indicated that it has become necessary to ration water as a result of the challenge.
“With the onset of the dry season, the entire country is expected to experience challenges with water supply because of the depletion of raw water from the various water bodies. As a result, consumers may encounter erratic flow of water in some parts of the country, especially the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Western and the Northern Regions.”
Ghana Water Company Limited
To ameliorate the situation, the Management of the Ghana Water Company Limited assured the consuming public that it has put in measures to improve the situation. It further urged Ghanaians to be part of the solution, as consumers are advised to strictly adhere to the conservation measures.
Among other things, GWCL urged Ghanaians to cease indiscriminate watering of lawns with treated water and moderately use treated water for car washing by resorting to the use of buckets, instead of hosing.
Also, it advised consumers to shut all taps when not in use and repair all leakages in homes, such as overflowing reservoirs and dripping taps, valves, etc. It noted that the non-adherence to this by consumers in saving the little drops also swells their water bills.
“Report all burst pipes and leakages immediately to the nearest GWCL District offices, Customer Service Centers and Fault Offices. Report all persons engaged in illegal connections, by-passes, and all malpractices against GWCL.”
Ghana Water Company Limited
GWCL equally urged Ghanaians to send in google GPS locations, pictures and videos of burst and leakages on the Company’s WhatsApp lines.
Measures adopted by GWCL to ensure equitable distribution of water
Citing reasons for the need of water rationing, GWCL stated that during dry season, consumers resort to the use of treated water for keeping lawns green, for commercial washing of vehicles, among others which has led consumers with greater dependence on rainwater further compound the problem by taking to treated water use.
GWCL underscored that these practices “ease the pressures in the pipelines thereby causing low pressures and no flow in some areas, especially the hilly areas”.
To this end, the GWCL highlighted that currently it has resorted to Water Demand Management to ensure equitable distribution of the water from the various treatment plants. It explained that all District Offices have been requested to announce to customers, days on which water will be flowing so customers can store water.
“Management of GWCL is very much concerned about the impact of the dry season on the raw water sources, which has been compounded by the excessive pollution of the water bodies and wish to assure the public that, the company, together with the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, and allied Ministries, are working assiduously to improve on raw water resources in the Country.”
Ghana Water Company Limited
The utility company subsequently entreated the general public to cooperate with the guidelines issued.
Meanwhile, the Head of Communications at GWCL, Stanley Martey, has emphasized the importance of tree preservation in guaranteeing water supply. He lamented that trees giving water bodies cover have been cut down.
“Trees that give our water bodies cover have all been cut away because of farming activities. We are also aware that the pollution in our water bodies has silted most of our water bodies and such rate of evaporation is high and we do not have huge volumes of water in our water bodies.”
Stanley Martey
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