Frustrated residents had to sacrifice their time, comfort and sleep to hunt for water.
But the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has blamed illegal mining activities popularly known as Galamse in the Western Region for its inability to provide potable water to residents of the metropolis.
The company explained in a statement that the challenges stem from inadequate freshwater inflows into the Pra basin, which is the source of raw water for the region’s largest plant, the Dabos Water Treatment Plant. The Anankware River, which supplies raw water to the Inchban Water Treatment Plant, faces fresh water inflow problems.
“Compounding the current problem in Dabos is the activities of illegal miners on the upper banks of the Pra River, causing severe silting in plant intakes. High silt deposits have severely reduced the amount of raw water available for abstraction. The current dry season experience has exacerbated the problem of raw water availability.”
According to GWCL, the result of these developments is that the company will not be able to produce enough water for the residents, thus, worsening the already bad supply situation in the metropolis.
It added that it has reviewed its water demand management program to bring equity to the water distribution exercise.