GWCL to fence treatment systems

Front Page: July 7, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has decided to fence its water treatment systems throughout the country to ward off encroachment and maintain the wholesomeness of water to consumers.
To begin with, it has awarded a GH¢6 million contract for the fencing of the Weija WaterTreatment Plant.
The move is also part of measures by the company to protect the lifespan of the dam, which is the major source of water supply to most parts of the Accra metropolis.
It will cover a 51-kilometre stretch of land which is the catchment area of the treatment plant.
The chain-link fence with 12 security guard posts and access roads, would be constructed over a nine-month period.
The head of projects of GWCL, Mr Gilbert Quaye, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the decision to fence off the area was necessitated by the consistent threat to the dam by encroachers and activities of illegal stone winners.
He explained that the management, therefore, decided to fence off an area considered safest for the life of the dam.
"We tried as much as possible to minimise demolition of property," he said.
Mr Quaye said the company pushed off the stone winners to a place far enough to ensure that even if they considered further activities, they would not threaten the dam.
"After the fencing, the blasting and other stone winning activities would not affect the plant. We expect them to move away completely from the area," he said.
As to whether the company had plans to extend the project to all its water works throughout the country, Mr Quaye said "it is still in the thinking stage".
The Weija Water Treatment Plant had come under the threat of collapse following massive encroachment of the GWCL land and the activities of stone winners in the area.
Last year, the GWCL earmarked 2,000 structures for demolition and carried out its threat with the demolition of some of the buildings sited near the catchment area.
The exercise was, however, suspended a day after it started the demolition to enable the company investigate complaints by some property owners that their houses earmarked for demolition were outside the company’s land.
The company said it spends GH¢500,000 every month to treat the water from the Densu River, the only source of water supply to most parts of Accra.
It attributed the high cost of treatment to the high pollution of the river by illegal residents who had encroached the entire catchment area.