Akosombo Dam dried and we had dumsor, today we’re spilling excess water from it – UG lecturer

A senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, Prof Kobby Mensah, has lamented about the failure of the state to store the excess water that is being spilt from the Akosombo Dam which has led to floods in some parts of Ghana including the Volta Region.

In a post shared on X on October 16, 2023, Prof Mensah said that the Akosombo Dam dried up under the era of former President John Agyekum Kufuor in 2007 and Ghana was thrown into the state of intermittent power supply (dumsor) but today huge volumes of water are being spilt from it.

He wondered why the state could not put measures in place to keep the excess water from the dam during the rainy season which it can fall on when the dam dries up.

“The same Akosombo Dam that dried, didn’t have sufficient water to supply electricity leading to Dumsor In Kufour’s era?

“Now the same has plenty and we can only discharge it as waste? No way to keep it for dry times? I am a novice on the technicalities, someone explain?” he quizzed.

Several parts of the Volta Region have been devastated by the flood caused by the spillage of excess water from two dams in the region, the Akosombo Dam and the Kpong Dam.

More than 10,000 Ghanaians have been forced to evacuate from their homes and several properties including homes and appliances in them as well as farms and vehicles have been destroyed.

The government has had to form an inter-ministerial committee to assess the extent of the havoc caused by the spillage in other to provide the needed assistance to the citizenry.

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has even visited the hardest hit communities, including Mepe and has assured them that his government would do all it can to get them out of the current situation.

Aerial footages of the Volta Region sighted by GhanaWeb shows the extent of damage caused by the flood.

The pictures showed vast acres of land overtaken by flood water.

Farms, parks, as well as structures, including homes, schools, hospitals and companies could be seen submerged in water.

View Prof Mensah’s post below:

The same Akosombo Dam that dried, didn’t have sufficient water to supply electricity ⚡️ leading to Dumsor In Kufour’s era? Now the same has plenty and we can only discharge it as waste? No way to keep it for dry times? I am a novice on the technicalities, someone explain? https://t.co/4sxOC7kCX1

— Prof. Kobby Mensah (@thePOE_T) October 16, 2023