The Minister of Works, Housing and Water Resources, Kenneth Gilbert Adjei, has expressed concern over encroachment and other illegal activities surrounding the Weija Water Treatment Plant, warning that the situation threatens water production and supply to parts of Accra and Kasoa.
The minister said activities such as sand winning, farming and illegal developments within the catchment area of the dam could undermine efforts to ensure a sustainable water supply to residents.
Mr Adjei, therefore, said the government would work with relevant institutions, including local authorities and security agencies, to address the situation and protect the facility.
“We are going to sit down and talk seriously about it and see how best we can ensure that we do not get further encroachment, and those who have already encroached will face punitive measures to deter others,” he said.
The minister was speaking during a working visit to the treatment plant and the Weija Dam in Accra last Tuesday.
He was accompanied by his Deputy Minister, Gizella Tetteh-Agbotui and the Managing Director of the Ghana Water Limited (GWL), Adam Mutawakilu.
Encroachment
Mr Adjei explained that encroachment on lands belonging to the GWL and activities that polluted the raw water source increase the cost of water treatment.
He said protecting the dam and its catchment area was critical to ensuring a reliable water supply to the growing population in Accra and surrounding communities.
“If we allow encroachment and pollution to continue, it will affect the quality of the raw water and increase the cost of treating the water before it is supplied to consumers,” he said.
Media role
The deputy minister also appealed to the media to help raise public awareness of the need to protect national assets such as the Weija Dam.
She explained that in some cases, developers were aware that certain lands belonged to Ghana Water Limited but still proceeded with construction.
Mrs Tetteh-Agbotui urged the media to continue highlighting the issue to build public awareness of the need to protect water resources.
Measures taken
For his part, Mr Mutawakilu said the company had put in place monitoring mechanisms to check encroachment and other illegal activities within the catchment area.
He said the GWL regularly conducted patrols and reported illegal activities to the appropriate authorities for action.
Mr Mutawakilu said the company worked closely with district assemblies and national security agencies in addressing encroachment and other threats to the facility.
He said national security had previously visited the area and marked some illegal structures for possible action, adding that the GWL had taken steps to
protect some critical sections of the dam and treatment plant.
He said plans were underway to construct fence walls around some strategic parts of the facility, including the intake point, to prevent further encroachment.
“The area is very large and we cannot fence the entire place, but we have identified some critical sections where we need to build walls to safeguard the installations,” he said.
Treatment plant
The Weija Water Treatment Plant remains a critical facility in supplying potable water to the western and central parts of Accra, as well as sections of Kasoa.
Officials said the facility had the advantage of gravity-fed transmission of treated water to consumers because it is situated about 120 metres above sea level.
However, the rising demand for water and human activities around the dam continue to present challenges to the sustainable operation of the facility.
Other challenges include ageing infrastructure, limited production capacity and pollution of the raw water source.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh