Some residents caused the flooding at Weija – GWCL explains
Head of Cooperate Affairs of the Ghana Water Company Limited, Mr Stanley Martey has revealed that the spillage of the Weija Dam is to protect the integrity of the dam.
Accounting for what may have caused one of the worst spillages in recent years in the Weija during an interview on TV3 on 4th October 2022, Mr Martey said, “the maximum level at which the Weija dam operates is at 48ft if we do not protect the integrity of the dam and it gets destroyed the situation could be worse causing more floods and havoc in the Weija community and it could take the whole Accra West which the Weija dam serves 4 years to get a new dam for regular supply of water”.
Reacting to how some residents have been affected by the spillage, Mr Martey insisted that before the spill gates of the dam are opened, the GWCL goes through the standard procedure by informing the residents beforehand and blamed some residents affected by the floods of negligence on their path as information was given before this exercise was carried out.
He further expressed worry about the situation saying “some residents have built in the buffer zone and the cause of the river diverting its cause and because of the obstacles such as new structures springing up on the path the river is supposed to flow through it path gets blocked and it diverts it course, leading to flooding in the area”.
On the affected water supply points in places such as the Eastern Region due to the heavy downpour Mr Martey indicated that their engineers are currently on the ground addressing the situation in places such as Jambossi in the Northern Region, Densuano is still shut down for repairs and the dam at Akyem Oda is on the radar to be repaired as well for regular supply of water.
Mr Martey assured Ghanaians that the GWCL is assiduously working to keep the affected dams running for regular water supply.
The trickle-down effect of ravaging floods from the Eastern Region was felt right down to the Weija dam in Accra. This year’s spillage according to the residents, was more than what they anticipated as they were overwhelmed by the floods. Some of them are counting their losses running into millions of Cedis and the situation has brought various activities within the community to a halt and necessitating some form of explanations from the GWCL.
