Water company completes work on pressure pumps

Page 19 (lead), September 13/2008

Story: Charles Benoni Okine

Regular water supply to parts of Accra that was halted for 10 days due to a shutdown of the boosters station to allow works to go on has resumed in all the areas that were affected during the exercise.
This follows the completion of work by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) on the installation of higher capacity pressure pumps at its Accra Booster Station to enable it to pump more water from the Weija Headworks to consumers in Accra.
Some of the areas affected by the exercise were Madina, Adenta, West/East Legon and parts of Achimota, institutions such as the University of Ghana, Pantang Hospital, Institute of Professional Studies (IPS) and GIMPA.
Mr Michael Agyemang, Chief Manager, Public Relations of GWCL, told the Daily Graphic that the exercise also allowed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to restore and hook a new transformer to a dedicated power line being fed from separate supply sources to ensure constant power supply.
The pump installation forms part of ongoing works on the Weija water expansion project being undertaken by the company at a cost of $32 million.
It is expected that upon completion, 15 million gallons of water per day will be pumped from the water treatment plant at Weija to augment the present supply of about 40 million gallons of water per day from the same source.
The project also includes the laying of a 14-kilometre pipeline to interconnect the Weija Treatment Plant and the Accra Terminal Reservoir.
Mr Agyemang said the project was expected to be completed by the end of the year and noted that “when completed the project will improve water in the metropolis and serve over 823,000 people in communities such as Madina, Adenta and settlements along the Dodowa and Aburi roads, Cantonments, Labone, La, Teshie, Ashalley Botwe, Adjirigano, East Legon, Dome, Achimota, Taifa, Kwabenya and the developing settlements along the Nsawam Road.
Meanwhile, some residents in the affected areas told the Daily Graphic that they had not seen much improvement in water supplies to them and wondered what the exercise was about.
However, a source at Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL) told the Daily Graphic that the changing of the pumps to high capacity type formed part of a preparatory work to increase the water supplies in urban Accra.
It said the rationing of water as it was before was on course and gave the assurance that those who had not yet received water would be served when their schedule was due.