Water distribution company closes facilities after illegal sand gain

The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in the Northern Region has warned that it may be forced to cut off Tamale's water supply and surrounding communities, due to illegal sand collector activities in one of its treatment plants in the region.

According to the company, the situation has worsened because it sucks more mud than water, because of the significant silt caused by the capture of sand in the white Volta.

The White Volta is the only source of raw water for hundreds of thousands of people in Tamale and other surrounding communities.

However, sand harvesting activities divert the flow of the river and increase turbidity.

Ghana Water Company Limited claims to lose more than 65,000 Ghanaian cedis daily to the Dalun water treatment plant due to sand mining.

The public relations officer of the GWCL in the North Region, Nii Abbey, in an interview with Citi News At a stakeholder forum organized by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, the PURC said that all efforts to get the authorities to regulate the activities of these winners had failed.

"Last year, the vanguard operation had to intervene, but it ended in a political game. The activities of the illegal sand winters on the White Volta in Nawuni really affect our operations as the river is practically silted and muddy. "

He further lamented that "In the coming months, if activities are not stopped in the GWCL, the Northern Region would be forced to suspend its operations temporarily because the plant is designed to extract from the GWCL. water."

Issahaku Mashood Yakubu, regional director of PURC for the North, said the Commission would be responsive in optimizing resources.

"PURC is more strategically positioned to be proactive in fulfilling its operational mandate to optimize resources for the Ghanaian consumer. The PURC would not wait for the problems to escalate before we start running to fight the fire. We will tackle the issues proactively and objectively, "he said.

Issahaku Mashood Yakubu, Regional Head of North PURC

The forum brought together consumers, Ghana Water Company Limited and Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo), to discuss the challenges they face and find solutions to improve service and increase customer satisfaction.

The forum also offered consumers the opportunity to ask questions and suggest solutions to improve customer service.

-Citinewsroom