No Water Crisis Imminent in Ghana

EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Although studies have shown that globally water resources are dwindling, which makes the scarcity of freshwater imminent, Ghanaians have been assured that Ghana does not face that looming threat – at least, not anytime soon.

According to the Chief Manager, Public Relations of Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Mr. Michael Agyeman, Ghana currently uses a very insignificant percentage of its water resource to meet its water needs, which he puts at about 0.0005%.

“From where I sit, even if I am looking at Accra water – we depend on the Volta Lake. And it looks like from our calculations, we are not taking more than 1% of the volume of water that is even flowing into the sea at Kpong. By calculations, I think 0.0005% or something of that sort, so I know that we have a lot of water and if you look at where Kpong is, we are not even depending on the lake – the water in the lake for the dam.

“We are abstracting water from outside the dam – that means that it is the water that is fleeing into the sea that we are using to treat for people to drink. And looking at it all, we don’t stand in any immediate danger of losing our water resource,” he assured.

Mr. Michael Agyeman stated categorically too that even if the level of water in the Akosombo dam reduces as has been experienced lately, it is only generation of power that will be affected because the low water level cannot turn the turbines.

He said it will not affect supply of water to GWCL for treated to consumers because their intake point is very low and downstream the dam, “unless perhaps we have the whole lake drying and becoming bare then that is where we have a problem but from the look of things we haven’t come to that level.”   

This he said, means that barring any unforeseen circumstances, Ghana is assured of a constant supply of potable water for a long period, as there is enough raw water for now, to produce for people to drink, though he could not say for how long the country’s water resource will last.

“We are not having problem with drying up of water now as it used to be,” he emphasised.

In an exclusive interview with this reporter during a national dialogue on the rights to water and sanitation in Accra on Thursday May 27, 2010, Mr. Agyeman stated that available statistics indicate that just a minute portion of the Volta Lake, which is Ghana’s largest freshwater resource, is treated and passed on as potable water to the consuming public.

He added that another resource – the Weija Lake, which serves western Accra, is not being tapped to full capacity. He said even though the safe yield is 70 million gallons a day, “at the moment we are doing 55 million gallons a day,” adding “we are aware that all things being equal (if degradations don’t go on), then the safe yield of the lake is 70 million gallons, which means we can even do 15 million gallons more.”

The GWCL Public Relations Manager disclosed that to check the degradation and pollution going on at the Weija Lake, the Water Resources Commission has formed the Weija Basin Committee, which has been tasked with checking the pollution of the water resource and that available information now suggests that the quality of the water is improving.

He also asserted that there is now improved water supply at places of chronic shortage such as Adenta and Teshie in Accra and Cape Coast in the Central Region. “We expanded the Cape Coast water supply system; in fact we have built a new one completely. Formerly we were depending on the Brimso dam, which was built in 1928...built by Gordon Guggisburg,” Governor of the then Gold Coast, he stated.

He further disclosed that the new system has been built on the Pra River, where the water is treated, in addition to the Brimso. “Now water shortage is a thing of the past,” he averred.

Agreeing that if the Volta Basin shareholders such as Burkina Faso decide to also build a dam on the river it will change all that assurance, he said because there are some protocol and trans-boundary agreements with them, he believed nothing of that sort will be done before first consulting Ghana.

Speaking on the decision by Ghana to send water to Togo which has in the recent past generated a lot of debate among Ghanaians, Mr. Agyeman said negotiations are still ongoing with Togolese authorities, explaining that it will not be the treated water from Ghana that will be transferred to Togo after the negotiations as was believed by many Ghanaians.

Instead, he said “it is a new project altogether. Don’t  forget they also have a right to the Volta Lake because the lake is being shared by all the countries in West Africa,” adding, “In fact we have Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo and even Mali.”

The GWCL Chief Manager said the countries all depend and have access to the lake and that “if Burkina Faso decides to cut off we are in crisis and some of the tributaries are also coming from Togo, so we have an agreement where they can also treat our raw water.”

He added that Togo wants to, in collaboration with Ghana, get some money and then set up their own treatment plant and then send the water to their home country.

According to Mr. Agyeman, the advantage of the agreement when it is finalised with Togo, will be that Ghana will get some water for all the about 26 towns and villages along the pipeline, from Sogakope to Lome.

“So the money is not coming from Ghana; the treated water is not Ghana’s water; we are going to add on to what we have,” he stressed.

Concurring that many in Ghana do not have access to potable water, Mr. Michael Agyeman said it is the responsibility of the Ghana government to source for funds to expand existing treatment plants to get more water for communities, villages and towns that still do not have access to potable or treated water, asserting that ongoing deliberations with Togo is a result of an initiative from that government.