Taps run dry in parts of Accra following burst pipeline

The shortage, which started last Thursday, has caused considerable inconvenience to people, particularly schoolchildren, who spend many hours searching for water at the expense of their study period.

Restoration

Fortunately, the situation will improve from tomorrow, as officials of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) were seen feverishly replacing an HDPE pipe along the transmission line from the Weija Water Treatment Plant to the Awoshie Water Works when the Daily Graphic visited the place yesterday.

The cracked pipeline, which is responsible for the problem, had been leaking since last week, compelling the GWCL to stop water flowing from the Weija plant to other parts of Accra.

The Accra West Regional Distribution Manager of the GWCL, Mr Francis Lamptey, who was supervising work on the pipeline, assured residents through the Daily Graphic that the problem would be fixed last night.

He said the HDPE pipe, the main water distribution point at Awoshie, cracked, causing water leakage, and that for the past three days work had been going on to fix the pipe, which was a major line of water distribution to Accra.

According to Mr Lamptey, from today the various pipelines would be activated, awaiting the flow of water to consumers.

Yellow gallons

Since the problem began, the phenomenon of carrying yellow gallons (Kufuor gallons) has become more noticeable, as many people are seen carrying the gallons in many parts of Accra.

Some affected areas are Dansoman, Odorkor, Achimota, Lapaz, Mamprobi and Adabraka.

A Daily Graphic team that visited those areas yesterday witnessed scores of people scrambling for water at various water sale points.

At most of the places visited, the people had queued for water from wells and it was obvious from the yellowish nature of the water that it was not wholesome.

Frustration

Some of the people the Daily Graphic spoke to expressed their frustration at the situation, saying the water situation was taking a toll on them in view of their inability to attend to other pressing issues.

Students also shared their concerns, explaining that they had not been able to concentrate on their studies, since they had to use their study periods to look for water.

Assurance

The Communications Manager of the GWCL, Nana Yaw Barimah Barnie, in an interview, gave an assurance that the water crisis would be resolved by close of work yesterday.

Minister Pleads with the Public

In a related development, the Minister of  Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alhaji Collins Dauda, has assured residents of Accra that the water problem will be fixed by the close of work today, reports Doreen Andoh.

Addressing  a section of the media when he inspected work underway to salvage the situation in Accra yesterday, he said he had been assured by the company that hopefully the situation would be over by the close of work today.

“I plead with the public to bear with us while we work around the clock to fix the situation,” he added.

According to him, preparations to review all water lines and the systems at major such stations were underway to ensure that such future occurrences were avoided. 

Managing Director

The acting Managing Director of the GWCL, Mr Kwaku Dovlo, said the pipeline that was damaged last Sunday was the company’s major transmission line for water coming from Weija.

“Therefore, we had to shut it down to repair it,” he added.