The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has attributed its failure to serve Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis citizens with potable water to the actions of unlicensed miners in the Western Region.

Due to the low water level at the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) intake sites in the area, Sekondi-Takoradi and other communities in the Western region have experienced water shortages.

According to the Ghana Water Company Limited, the arrival of the dry season has made the issue worse.

In a statement, the GWCL explained that the challenges arise from inadequate freshwater inflows into the Pra basin, which is the source of raw water for the Daboase Water Treatment Plant, the biggest plant in the region. The Anankware River, which supplies raw water to the Inchaban Water Treatment Plant, is equally facing its own freshwater inflow difficulties.

“Compounding the current problem at Daboase are the activities of illegal miners upstream of the River Pra, causing severe siltation at the plant’s intake. The high silt deposits have drastically reduced the volume of raw water available for abstraction. The dry season currently being experienced has also exacerbated the problem of raw water unavailability.”

The GWCL claims that as a result of these changes, "the corporation is unable to generate enough water for citizens, further deteriorating the already precarious supply situation in the metropolis."

The GWCL noted that in order to promote justice in the water distribution process, it has revised its water demand management program.

The unpredictable pumping schedule, according to the GWCL, means that some customers are still unlikely to receive water despite the assessment of the water management program.

“Management of the company recognises and shares in the pain of consumers and are now doing everything they can to ameliorate their suffering, including dredging the intake of the Daboase Treatment Plant, which is currently ongoing.”