The Brong Ahafo Regional office of the Ghana Water Company has embarked on an exercise to monitor the records of, especially its major consumers to ensure they pay the right amount for what they consume.
Those found to have indulged in any malpractice like illegal connections or failed to pay the correct bills would be disconnected until they honour their obligations, according to Mr. Yaw Addae Mensah, Regional Director.
He named the major consumers as hotels, restaurants, sachet water producers, chop bars and vehicle washing bays.
The company had detected that most of the major consumers had not been paying the right bills for their consumption, which was affecting the company's operations. Mr. Mensah said, "If people continue to cheat the company and other consumers, our performance will be greatly hampered. Some of these major consumers have even made illegal connections and we are going to deal firmly with such offenders to ensure that they pay the correct amounts or prosecuted in court."
The Regional Director noted the perennial water shortage in the Sunyani Municipality, particularly during the dry season and attributed it partly to the misuse of water by some consumers, some whom made illegal connections to use water for free.
Mr. Mensah said the company was determined to eliminate such malpractices so that the municipality could get water supply all year round, "even when the water level in Tano River falls".
He appealed to consumers to use water judiciously and called on farmers along the Tano River to desist from using the water for their activities, adding that, the company was working to control them.
"We want the experience of shortages to be a thing of the past and it is up to the conscience of consumers to co-operate since the company cannot stop people from using water for other purposes than domestic", he said.
Mr. Mensah said the company provided 7,000 cubic litres of water daily to the Sunyani Municipality and needed about 80 million dollars for an expansion programme to be able to increase supply to 44,000 cubic litres.
"We need a big plant that will meet the requirements of the metropolis until the year 2030", he said, adding that the government was holding discussions with the United States Government to secure the money for the long-term project.
"There is going to be an extensive network under which storage tanks will be erected in the town."
A feasibility study and preliminary design of the Sunyani Water Supply System, expansion and rehabilitation project, funded by the US Trade Development Agency, has been completed.
