The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) management has outlined the difficulties it encounters in ensuring a consistent water supply to residents in the Greater Accra Region.

Despite a production capacity of 150 million gallons per day, areas such as Adenta, Kasoa, Weija, and Apaapa in La have experienced irregular water supply, leading to concerns from residents.

Some have resorted to purchasing water from tankers at high costs due to the impact on their daily lives.

In an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on Citi FM, GWCL's Managing Director, Ing. Dr. Clifford Braimah, attributed the water supply shortfall to unexpected issues at the Kpong and Weija Water Treatment Plants.

“Production of water supply to Accra is 150 million gallons per day or 682,000 cubic meters per day,” he added.

He mentioned challenges such as old pumps breaking down, weed blockage at Kpong due to dam spillage, and tampering with pipelines by customers.

Dr. Braimah called for capital injection, collaboration with the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), and the replacement of outdated pumps to address these challenges.

Highlighting the outdated infrastructure, particularly pumps dating back to 1965, Dr. Braimah emphasized the need for retooling the system and renewing old equipment.

“The recent problem was an unplanned issue at Kpong [Treatment Plant] and that of Weija [Water Treatment Plant]. There are very old pumps that have been trying to manage, and they normally break down at Weija. At Kpong, after the flooding due to the Akosombo dam spillage, there was a weed blockage. Everything is normalized now, and the challenge has been resolved,” the Managing Director of GWCL said.

“Together with the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), we should be able to move to the government and say that there must be some level of injection of capital. We will have to make a proper case that the gap will be closed. If they leave it to us, some people will not pay their tariffs, some will get people who will do illegal connections. Once they do the illegal connections, they don’t take into consideration our hydraulic system. These are the challenges we are faced with.”

“We need to retool the old system; if you go to Kpong [Treatment Plant] today, we have pumps that are as old as 1965. For the regulator, it’s dead. Because we are still using them, we take money to repair them when they break down. So, renewal of the old system,” he stated.

He stressed that the population growth in Accra has surpassed the water company's capacity, making it imperative to upgrade and address the challenges faced in delivering consistent water supply to residents.