Acute water shortage hits Sunyani Municipality

An acute water shortage has hit Sunyani, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Capital, and some parts of the municipality.

For more than five days residents had no adequate water for their household chores.

Abesim, Newtown, Point Four, Area One, Newtown Extension, Nkwabeng South, Nkwabeng North, Penkwase, Estate, Estate Extension, Ohene Djan and Dominase are the most affected areas.

At Abesim, they had to walk several kilometres to fetch water from the Tano River, the main source of water in the municipality, for their domestic chores.

The situation is not different from Estate, New-Dormaa and Dumasua as most of them depend on nearby streams.

Commercial water tankers have capitalized on the shortage to sell at exorbitant prices at some of the affected areas.

Some of the residents told the Ghana News Agency that a bucket of water was being sold at 80 pesewas instead of 20 and 30 pesewas depending on the quantity.

Some residents had to struggle in queues before they could buy water while others woke up as early as 0400 hours to join already-formed queues.

Others also depended on boreholes drilled in some few houses while sachet water producers are doing brisk business as the demand for the product is extremely high in the municipality.

Mr Kwadwo Daase, Brong-Ahafo Regional Communications Officer of the Ghana Water Company Limited, said last weekend thieves cut the Volta River Authority (VRA) cables that supplied power to the Abesim head works.

He said as a result there was power blackout and the company could not pump water from the head works for supply.

Mr Daase said in the interim, the company had dispatched its only water tanker to supply water to sensitive areas like SSNIT and the Central Business District for free hoping that as soon as VRA fixed the power lines, regular water supply would resume in the localities.

He said before the water shortage, the company was embarking on water rationing in the municipality and some parts of the region as its plant could not produce and supply to meet demand.

Mr Daase explained that instead of six million gallons a day, the company’s plant could produce only 1.5 million gallons daily.

He said the company urgently needed expansion works which would cost more than $80 million at the Abesim head works before it could meet the water needs of residents.

He said plans were advanced for the company to drill mechanised boreholes at vantage points to augment the current water supply.

Mr Daase advised consumers to pay their bills regularly to enable the company to obtain the required resources for the drilling of the boreholes.

He entreated the general public to be vigilant and help the VRA to apprehend and prosecute miscreants who steal its cables.

Mr Daase advised consumers to adopt the culture of water harvesting and storage for use during emergency.