Ho faces persistent water shortage

A Severe state of depression, anxiety and uncertainty has gripped the Volta Regional capital, Ho, as the water crisis in the municipality has intensified with no end to the problem in sight.

Three days after water supply was restored to Ho and other parts of the Volta Region, the repaired pump at the Kpeve Water Head Works broke down again last Friday, shattering every means to supply water to those areas.

The initial problem, which occurred in the early hours of New Year’s Day, lasted for six days, during which residents trooped to old well sites and abandoned boreholes for water.

Now, the wells and boreholes have dried up, leaving homes dry, and the people in thirst in the severe harmattan weather.

The other affected areas are Peki, Have, Bame, Akrofu, Ziavi and Klefe.

Ho has now turned desolate, with largely reduced traffic on the roads, and an unusual silence at the drinking spots, as the water crisis has grounded various economic activities.

Some officials of the Ghana Water Company Limited, who spoke to the Daily Graphic on grounds of anonymity, said the 30-year faulty pump and shaft needed to be replaced with an imported one but several appeals and reminders to the past government fell on deaf ears.

Now, the company is making frantic efforts to seek an improvised pump from local artisans in Accra to fix the problem.

Also, an official of the company said on a Ho local radio station yesterday that efforts were being made to address the issue, but he was unable to state specifically when the water would be restored.

Presently, hotels and health facilities are relying on the depleting reservoirs to operate, while some residents are also queuing to bathe at a borehole near the Ho-Hliha public toilet, which holds some water for now.

However, the situation has not affected service delivery at the Ho Municipal Hospital.

The Medical Supervisor in charge, Dr (Med) Dunyo Agbleze, said the Ghana National Fire Service had been assisting the 250-bed hospital with frequent supplies of water, to supplement water from its mechanised borehole to the various units.