Kpong Water Works under threat from encroachment.

More than 100 acres of the 600 acres Kpong Water Headworks land has been encroached upon, a situation which could have negative impact on future expansion works at the plant that supplies the bulk of water to residents in the Accra-Tema Metropolitan areas.

Mr Frank Agyei, Station Manager, said apart from physical structures that had been erected, some religious groups were also using the reservoir area for their retreats and appealed for a concerted effort to prevent further encroachment on the land.

He was briefing the Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Francis Osafo-Mensah, during a tour of the facility that produces over 46 million gallons of water a day for residents in Accra, Tema, the Akuapem Ridge and Krobo areas.

Mr Agyei said, although the plant has the capacity to service more areas, lack of storage facilities such as reservoirs and ageing pipe lines had contributed to the occasional ineffectiveness of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).

He said in view of the huge capital needed for any expansion work there was the need to encourage private participation in the water sector, adding that, this could also enable the GWCL to purchase power directly from the Volta River Authority (VRA) which could bring down production cost.

Dr Osafo-Mensah who was accompanied by officials of the Regional Co-ordinating Council and the Manya Krobo District Assembly paid a similar visit to the Kpong Power Generating Plant and interacted with staff of the Akuse Government Hospital.