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Weija Dam under threat of run-over
Weija, Nov. 12, Ghanadot/GNA - Weija Dam, which supplies
potable water to over two million people in Accra is said to
be under serious threat of run-over that could cause
destruction of lives and property because of illegal
activities by developers and stone winners.
Encroachment on the Dam area has taken a different dimension
in recent times as developers and stone winners now resort
to the use of explosives (dynamites) to detonate the rocks
that served as protection to the dam.
Water experts have therefore warned of possible danger and
predicted that the extent of destruction could spread and
submerge areas such as Odorkor and Dansoman which are about
10 to 15 kilometers away from the dam, should the run-over
occur.
Briefing the press on the situation on Monday during a tour,
Mr Michael Amuakwa, Plant Manager at the Weija Water
Treatment Plant explained that the explosives, besides
breaking the mountains, also weakened the foundational
structure of the dam.
He said people have defied several warnings not to build or
carry out any form of human activity within the catchment
zone despite the fact that they were aware that the land was
the property of the Ghana Water Company which belonged to
the government.
Mr Amuakwa said because the stone quarrying had now reached
close to the banks of the dam, a lot of foreign materials
have entered it, which made it difficult to determine the
level and volume of water in the dam.
He said the situation called for an immediate radical
intervention by all interested stakeholders to save the dam.
"It is not just an eyesore, but a catastrophe. The
unfortunate
thing is that the people living here do not even know the
serious health threat they are in case of a chlorine gas
leakage," Mr Amuakwa said.
Mr Ronald Abrahams, Programme Coordinator of the Water
Resources Commission said, "there is no substitute anywhere
to the Weija Water Treatment Plant therefore everything must
be done to protect it."
He said so far, government had invested about three billion
Ghana Cedi in the plant operations, which supplied water to
strategic areas such as the Castle (seat of Government),
Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and Ridge Hospital.
GNA
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