Encroachment of GWCL lands affecting water production at Berekum

The Bono Regional Production Manager of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Mr Hadisu Alhassan, has said encroachment and other human activities around the Berekum Water Treatment Plant are affecting the quality of water the facility is producing.

He said the situation posed a serious challenge to the company, which produced 8,000 gallons of water per day, as agro chemicals used by farmers who farmed close to the plant ended up in the water that was produced.

Mr Alhassan disclosed this to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Works and Housing which visited the facility on a leg of its three-day working tour of selected water treatment plants and small town water systems in the Bono and Ahafo regions.

The Bono regional manager of the GWCL said several meetings held between the company and the Berekum Municipal Assembly, as well as the chiefs in the region on the matter had not yielded any positive result.

Visit

The parliamentary select committee undertook the visit to afford members first-hand contact and observation of events at water treatment plants operating in the two regions and new ones that were being constructed.

At Jankufa, a farming community in the Jaman North Municipality, the committee inspected ongoing construction works at the Jankufa Water System.

The facility is estimated to cost GH¢1.79 million and will serve Jankufa and neighbouring communities having a population of about 3,885 with a projected water demand estimate of 277 cubic metres a day.

Besides the water treatment plant, there are also two mechanised boreholes capable of pumping water into an elevated concrete water storage tank of 50-cubic metres capacity with six standing pipes.

At Asiri, also a farming community in the Jaman North Municipality, the committee inspected ongoing works on the GH¢2.7 million Asiri Water System.

The population of Asiri stands at about 7,822 and it is projected that by 2029, demand for water in the community would be about 563 cubic metres a day.

The water system at Asiri will have three mechanised boreholes that have the potential to pump water into an elevated concrete water storage tank with a 100-cubic metre capacity that will service eight stand pipes in the community and private home connections.

Private customers

The Bono Regional Director of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Mr Ahmed Ewura, said the two projects would be completed soon and handed over to the communities.

He said there was an ongoing exercise to register potential private customers who would be connected when the water systems commenced operations.

The Berekum Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Kofi Adjei, expressed his worry with encroachment of lands at the Berekum Water Treatment Plant and said the assembly and the chiefs would work hard to address the situation.

Fence wall

The Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Committee on Works and Housing, Mr Emmanuel Bedzrah, advised the management of the water treatment plant to have a fence wall constructed around the facility to protect the site from encroachers.

He also asked the municipal assembly to sensitise the people to the dangers of farming or carrying other human activities close to the dam.

Furthermore, he called on the assembly to enact by-laws to deter encroachers and others who intruded on lands belonging to the GWCL.