Ghana Water Limited (GWL) says it is working to address persistent water supply challenges affecting several communities in the Greater Accra Region, particularly areas around Tema and Ashaiman.
GWL Communications Manager, Stanley Martey, said the company was continuously monitoring the distribution network and troubleshooting problems to improve supply and ensure that available water reaches as many consumers as possible.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Wednesday, October 7, Mr Martey acknowledged the gap between water demand and supply but said GWL was working to manage available volumes more efficiently.
“I want to assure the public that we wouldn’t sit aloof and do nothing about the situation,” he said.
“As I speak, we are constantly on the ground troubleshooting to ensure that we identify the challenges and have them solved.”
GWL Targets More Regular Supply
Mr Martey explained that although the current system could not meet total demand, better management of available water could allow households to receive water more regularly.
“Although we have that gap between demand and supply, we also know that with a little water in the system, we can still distribute it well, so that everybody can have it at least two times a week. And if you’re able to store, you should be able to survive it,” he said.
He noted that water availability varies across communities depending on their location within the distribution network.
“There are areas where, by virtue of their location, they get water, let’s say, three days, four days, even throughout the week. So the situation is not as terrible as sometimes we see it,” he said.
However, Mr Martey acknowledged that several communities had experienced significant difficulties in recent weeks.
“In recent times, we’ve had serious challenges with Golf City, Ashaiman, Gbetsile, Community 24, 25, Prampram, and thereabouts,” he said.
According to him, GWL had identified and resolved some of the problems affecting the areas and was expecting improvements in supply.
“We’ve tried identifying the problem, and as of yesterday, we’ve been able to identify some of the problems. We’ve rectified it, and then we are hopeful that there’s going to be a lot of improvement,” he said.
Pressure Challenges Persist
Mr Martey said GWL’s General Manager of Operations was monitoring the situation on the ground and that initial reports indicated some improvement in the system.
“This morning, I was informed by our General Manager of Operations that there’s some improvement in the system. He is on the ground as I speak, and so we are expecting that pressures are going to build up, and a lot more are going to get,” he said.
He appealed to residents in affected communities to remain patient as the company works to restore more consistent supply.
“So, as I apologise to them, I’ll expect that they exercise some patience, or plead with them to exercise some patience, whilst we try to solve the problems within the area, and then everybody will be okay,” he said.
Mr Martey said GWL also monitors water pressure across the network daily to identify areas requiring intervention.
“It is not just about customers. We also live within the communities, you understand? We have guys on the ground monitoring on a daily basis, and they report to us,” he said.
He explained that the company uses monitoring platforms to track pressure levels hourly, enabling technical teams to respond when pressure drops.
“I can show you platforms where we are recording pressures on an hourly basis. So if you realise that the pressures are low, whatever we have to do to improve the pressures, we do it,” he said.
Kpong-Tema Transmission Losses
Mr Martey also identified challenges along the water transmission network between Kpong and Tema as one of the factors affecting supply.
He said GWL had previously identified problems along the transmission lines and invested heavily in replacing weaker sections of the network.
“In recent times, I think about a month ago, we announced to the public that we have identified some problems along our transmission mains from Kpong to Tema,” he said.
According to him, significant volumes of water were being lost before reaching the Tema booster station.
“Apart from the problems, there are some other weaker areas creating challenges, because when we pump the water from Kpong, we don’t get the exact volumes at Tema, at our Tema booster station,” he explained.
“For instance, you pump, and by the time it gets to the booster station, we’ve lost 40 to 50 per cent.”
He said GWL subsequently invested nearly GH¢6 million to replace weaker and perforated sections of the transmission lines.
“We needed to find out what it was, so we had to invest close to six million Ghana cedis to change the weaker portions, and then there were perforated lines along the area,” he said.
Mr Martey said the repairs had resulted in more water reaching the Tema system, although low pressure remained a challenge.
“We’re expecting that there will be more water. Now we are getting more water, but pressures are rather low, so we still need to troubleshoot and identify the challenges,” he said.
