THE demand for water is higher than what is available today, therefore, there must be a conscious intervention to protect the country’s water bodies.
The Weija dam, built in 1978, is currently producing 55 million gallons of water per day, this is short of its full capacity of 60 million gallons.
The monthly cost of producing at the current level is estimated at GH¢600,000, half of which covers chemicals used in the treatment of the water to make it safe for human consumption.
However, reports indicate that the dam faces imminent collapse due to massive encroachment by developers, and also stone-quarrying and sandwinning activities at the banks of the lake.
These negative activities have been compounded by some fishermen who pollute the water with broken nets and plastic materials which normally choke the pumps and stop them from functioning well.
Mr. Paul Gandaa, the Station Manager of the dam, has expressed worry about the rate at which the water is being polluted.
According to him, the company has to use about 400 bags of aluminium sulphate a day to purify the water before distributing it to consumers.
It is feared that the water gets polluted by the liquid wastes that flow into the dam from individual homes that the encroachers have sited along the banks of the lake.
In addition, the massive farming activities along the source of the water, as well as the dumping of both organic and inorganic wastes into the river contaminate the water.
Indeed, this is a phenomenon which if not checked, would have disastrous consequences on human life and property.
We, therefore, implore the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing to take immediate steps to ward off the illegal activities of these encroachers before they cause any harm to the dam.
The Ghana Water Company Limited which has direct control over the dam, is said to be handicapped in terms of security personnel to keep the catchment area safe, and is therefore, appealing to the authorities to come to its aid.
The Times agrees with the station manager that the catchment area be fenced to prevent developers from encroaching on their land.
The Weija dam, built in 1978, is currently producing 55 million gallons of water per day, this is short of its full capacity of 60 million gallons.
The monthly cost of producing at the current level is estimated at GH¢600,000, half of which covers chemicals used in the treatment of the water to make it safe for human consumption.
However, reports indicate that the dam faces imminent collapse due to massive encroachment by developers, and also stone-quarrying and sandwinning activities at the banks of the lake.
These negative activities have been compounded by some fishermen who pollute the water with broken nets and plastic materials which normally choke the pumps and stop them from functioning well.
Mr. Paul Gandaa, the Station Manager of the dam, has expressed worry about the rate at which the water is being polluted.
According to him, the company has to use about 400 bags of aluminium sulphate a day to purify the water before distributing it to consumers.
It is feared that the water gets polluted by the liquid wastes that flow into the dam from individual homes that the encroachers have sited along the banks of the lake.
In addition, the massive farming activities along the source of the water, as well as the dumping of both organic and inorganic wastes into the river contaminate the water.
Indeed, this is a phenomenon which if not checked, would have disastrous consequences on human life and property.
We, therefore, implore the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing to take immediate steps to ward off the illegal activities of these encroachers before they cause any harm to the dam.
The Ghana Water Company Limited which has direct control over the dam, is said to be handicapped in terms of security personnel to keep the catchment area safe, and is therefore, appealing to the authorities to come to its aid.
The Times agrees with the station manager that the catchment area be fenced to prevent developers from encroaching on their land.
