Weija Dam spillage floods communities

Residents of Oblogo and Tetegu, communities along the Weija Dam, are virtually surrounded by water but they continue to live normally, three months after the Ghana Water Company Ltd (GWCL) started spilling excess water from the dam.

Some developers in the flooded areas are also continuing with new constructions, with reinforced foundations.

During a visit by the Daily Graphic team to the area it was realised that although some residents had their buildings very close to spilled water — which has flooded some places around the catchment area of the dam — they continued to sell and engage in their daily businesses such as sewing, carpentry and repaired of vehicles.

Others still washed their clothes, cooked, or rested or chatted under shady trees, carrying on with their lives as they usually did.

Some structures that had been inundated with spilled water from the dam had been abandoned by their owners.

Some community members said those people had only moved temporarily - until the waters receded.

Residents

All residents who were approached did not want to be named, but they were of the view that the flooding did not affect their lives.

Their worry, however, was the uncollected rubbish in the community which had spread about indiscriminately when the waters were spilled.

Residents of Oblogo said the winning of sand had created space for the water to recede - otherwise, they would have been inundated.

Sand winning

A security detail at Z & J 198 Ghana Limited, a company winning sand at the Oblogo side of the Weija Dam, explained that their work had temporarily halted because of the spillage.

He said they were waiting for the waters to recede a bit before they would go on with their work.

He pointed to some sand barriers created by the company and explained to the Daily Graphic team that it was to prevent the flood waters from spreading into the community.

At the Tetegu side of the dam, the waters seemed to have drifted more, submerging many houses.

Residents there seemed not to be bothered by the spillage and continued normally with their lives.

Context

The Weija Dam sits on the Densu River and is the main water treatment plant for Accra.

Operated by the GWCL, the dam supplies about 80 per cent of the potable water for the city and its environs.

With the onset of the rains, the GWCL started spilling water from the dam three months ago to prevent the maximum limit of the dam from being breached.

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