The Owabi and Barekese Water Treatment Plants, which are the primary facilities supplying water to communities in Greater Kumasi and the surrounding areas of the Ashanti Region, are at risk of imminent shutdown due to worsening operational challenges. Persistent power fluctuations, along with heavy siltation and plastic pollution in the dams, have forced management to take urgent steps to prevent interruptions in water supply.
During a recent visit, Channel One News observed a staff member from Ghana Water Limited (GWL) actively clearing plastics that had accumulated in the Owabi Dam. The efforts of the worker were commended by Adam Mutawakilu, the Managing Director of Ghana Water Limited, who was there on a working visit; however, he expressed concern over the deteriorating conditions at the facility.
The Owabi Treatment Plant, which processes about 36 million gallons of water daily, is not only grappling with plastic waste but is also heavily affected by siltation. Similarly, the Barekese Treatment Plant, which has the same production capacity, is facing operational threats from frequent power fluctuations and rising silt levels.
According to the Ashanti Production Manager of Ghana Water Limited, Dr. Hanson Mensah-Akutteh, the instability in power supply is significantly affecting operations. “Currently, our operational stability is being jeopardised because of the power fluctuations that we have. Sometimes we only run 14 hours instead of 24 hours. We are losing about 84% of our operations and that alone is impacting our production volumes,” he explained.
The GWL Managing Director, Adam Mutawakilu, after touring both facilities, lamented the impact of the challenges on production, noting that targets are increasingly being missed. “Last month we couldn’t meet our target. We fell short by almost 959 cubic metres of water and that is huge,” he said. He outlined urgent measures being pursued to address the situation, including securing commitment and authorisation from the Ministry of Finance to begin dredging works.
Mr Mutawakilu also engaged the staff of Ghana Water Limited during the visit, discussing ways to improve service delivery and operational efficiency.
Source: Hafiz Tijani
