Editorial by The Chronicle: Weija Dam spillage, downstream flooding and attendant destruction

A story published in Myjoyonline.com yesterday about the management of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) announcing that it will begin spilling excess water from the Weija Dam any time soon. The announcement is to forewarn citizens living downstream of the Weija Dam to begin evacuating from the vicinity to forestall any disasters when the spillage begins.

According to the GWCL, the level of the dam, as of Friday 28th April, 2023, was 46 feet, 1ft below the maximum safe operating level of 47ft. The dam’s levels are monitored on an hourly basis and the GWCL will open the spill gates should the level go above 46.5ft, so as not to compromise the integrity of the dam and to avert any disaster.

The GWCL added that to ensure that the damage caused as a result of the spillage is kept at a minimum; the Weija Municipal Assembly has been informed to desilt the estuary to enable easy flow of the water to the sea, and to clear heaps of refuse along the course of the Densu River.

The spillage exercise takes place every year, and whenever it happens thousands of residents of the southwestern part of Accra are left displaced, as well the destruction of properties.

Last year, for instance, six gates of the Weija Dam were opened to connect water to the sea, which caused serious flooding in some parts of Accra. This left over 500 people displaced and the destruction of properties.

Much as the GWCL is right in opening the gates of the dam to spill off the excess water in order to save the dam, it is also important that they embark on serious sensitisation programmes to inform people living downstream of the dam to begin evacuating from the area. Despite the newspaper and radio sensitisations that go on, it seems there are still some stubborn citizens who are always caught up in the floods after the opening of the dam’s gates.

Due to the unplanned nature of buildings along the spill way, and the attendant effect on lives and properties, The Chronicle believes there is the need to consider flood risk management processes to help control flooding during the spillage.

The Weija Dam, which was constructed 40 years ago, supplies water to many parts of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area. To offset the impacts of potential dam damage due to accidental and planned water spillages, about 100 metres of land around the dam were reserved. Despite planning prohibitions, these reservations have largely been encroached upon by homebuilders and business operators.

The Assembly, which can also be held complicit for the haphazard development of structures and buildings, has tried on various occasions without success to rectify the growing defiance of planning regulations by the demolition of illegal structures downstream of the dam.

It is high time the government takes a bold decision to eject those who have encroached upon the reserved area of the dam, otherwise the spillage will continue to cause perennial destruction to lives and property.