Wa Municipal Assembly to get Water Security Plan

The Wa Municipal Assembly will soon get a Water Security Plan (WSP) that will ensure that water resources are well secured in communities within the Municipality.

Under the WSP, the Municipal Assembly and the communities will be supported to build water infrastructure for multiple use, build resilience against climate change and protect and manage their water resources as well as secure the environment.

Mr Felix Gbevillah, the Programme Officer for WaterAid Ghana, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview on the sidelines of a three-day stakeholder orientation workshop in Wa.

He disclosed that at the end of the orientation workshop, a Water Security Development Team would be put in place and tasked with the responsibility of leading the process towards developing the WSP.

The team would collect and manage data from the communities and liaise with other stakeholders for information to develop the plan, he added.

He highlighted the threat of climate change, dwindling water table, and physical developments taking over wetlands, pollution of water bodies from illegal mining and the uncontrolled use of agro-chemicals.

He said, it was therefore, necessary to come out with initiatives that would help secure those water resources for use today and the future.

The importance of water resources, Mr. Gbevillah said could not be overemphasised and urged communities to protect their water resources.

The process was initiated by WaterAid Ghana, but officials said, the action would however be driven by the Wa Municipal Assembly.

“Developing a WSP is a long time initiative that is worth more than any project funding and that was what WaterAid believed in,” Mr. Gbevillah said.

Mr Joachim Ayiiwe Abungba, the Black Volta Basin Officer for the Water Resources Commission (WRC), lauded the idea of developing a WSP for the Municipality, especially the Jambusie Water Project that served the water needs of residents depended on water from the Black Volta.

The plan would emphasise a holistic approach to the management of water resources which included addressing the challenges facing the water sources.

Madam Yvonne Kafui Nyarku, Communications and Campaign Officer for WaterAid Ghana urged the media to help educate the public to understand the need for the WSP.