Akosombo dam: water level remains same after 24 hours
The Deputy Chief Executive of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Edward Obeng Kenzo says the water level in the Akosombo Dam has not raised in the last 24 hours.
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This, he said meant the volume of spillage on Thursday October 19 will be the same.
“We are below the 277.50 feet level. Today’s rise was zero which means the inflow and what we are spilling is the same. The level is around 277.36 as of this morning”, he stated.
He made this known in a radio interview on Accra-based Citi FM on Thursday Monday (Oct 19).
Why spillage of Akosombo dam
Justifying the spillage of water from the dam earlier this week, Mr. Kenzo lamented about the consistent rise in the water level in the dam, adding that nothing would be saved if the Akosombo Dam overtopped its operational level of 277.5 feet.
“. Where we are now, we are around 277.26 feet of water behind the dam. The dam’s operational level is 276, the maximum allowable operational level of the dam is 277.5 feet. So we are left with only about 0.24 feet to get to that maximum operational level of the dam”.
So any level beyond this, we are putting the dam’s integrity at risk. If the dam should break, the volume of water that will come out of the dam – all those along the banks of the river, all the way to somewhere around Tema will be wiped into the sea”, he stated.
Akosombo and Kpong dams spillage
Tracts of land, including farmlands and communities downstream the Akosombo and Kpong dams, have been flooded following the spillage of excess water from the two dams used to generate about a third of Ghana’s electricity supply.
The VRA started the spillage at the Akosombo and Kpong dams, both in the Eastern Region, from September 15, 2023, following a rise in the water level of both reservoirs due to appreciable levels of rainfall.
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In the South Tongu District capital, Sogakope, for instance, the Comboni Centre, which houses the Comboni Hospital, mortuary, technical vocational institute, basic schools, and the In Vitro laboratory has been closed down.