Water shortage: Population surge in Accra has outgrown our capacity-GWCL

The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) says the water crisis being experienced in the Greater Accra Region is due to population growth in the capital city.

Concerns have been raised by residents in different parts of Accra, such as Adenta, Kasoa, Weija, and Apaapa in La, regarding irregular water supply affecting their communities.

This situation, the residents claim has adversely impacted their daily lives, forcing some to resort to purchasing water from tankers at exorbitant prices.

Complaints from residents suggest that the GWCL failed to communicate plans for temporary water supply cuts in specific communities, with some reporting an absence of water for nearly a year.

However, the Managing Director of GWCL, Ing. Clifford Braimah reacting to this development expressed concern that the increasing population in Accra has exceeded the capacity of the water company.

Speaking to the issue in an interview on Monday, January 22, Ing. Braimah acknowledged the necessity for the GWCL to upgrade its machinery to meet the growing demands of Accra’s residents.

“Already in Accra, the volume of water we produce, the population has outgrown it, and we are looking at putting up a new system at Kpone to boost our production but resource constraint has been the problem, Since 2017, 2018, we have been working, and we have not settled on finances.

“So already if you have a limited volume of water coming into the system, and your population is big, you have to block them and supply them according to the demands of the people, but you cannot give everybody [water] at the same times otherwise some will not get. And so we have been limited for a very long time.” Ing. Braimah told Citi News monitored by the Ghana Report.

He added that certain complaints were linked to localized faults, and encouraged residents to report such issues to the nearest GWCL office for swift resolution.