Tamale water crisis: Fuo Community gets help as only source of water dries up

Residents of Tamale have been forced to rely on unsafe sources of water following the drastic cut in the supply of pipe-borne water by the Ghana Water Company since November 2023.

Residents now rely on dams, streams, wells, and dugouts for water for domestic use.

The water demand has doubled due to excessive heat, but the Ghana Water Company has said there is little it can do to resolve the issue.

The company has given different reasons for the water crisis in Tamale, including harsh weather conditions, an increase in population, and faulty equipment at the Nawuni Water Intake Point.

Many residents have complained of not getting water for four months. Those who live around Vitting Target said their taps have not flown for more than four years, questioning the method used by the Ghana Water Company to supply water to the various households.

Plight of Fuo Community:

The situation seems to be getting worse for residents because most of the dams and dugouts have started drying up due to the pressure on them and the rising temperatures.

The Fuo Community Dam, specifically in the Tamale North Constituency of the Sagnarigu Municipality, has completely dried up.

The dam does not serve the community alone, especially during this period of water shortage. Several other communities, including Kobilmahagu, Kpambegu, Kalpohin, Buguyili, and Kpawomo, depend on it for water.

Some of the residents who spoke with the reporter said they now depend on the water that springs up around the dam for survival.

"When you come here at dawn, it'll take you up to around 11 am to fill a jerry can of water. You have no other option, so you just have to wait," Asana, a resident of Fuo, said.

"If you have work to do, it means you just have to be here all night so that you can fill your basin or jerry can by morning. That is our struggle, and that's what we are going through in Ghana today," she added.

Another resident, Abiba, an elderly woman, said: "We are praying for God's intervention and mercies. This is the first time since my marriage over 30 years ago that all our water sources have dried up. This dam does not usually dry up like this; there's always something small left. Our wells, our boreholes, usually don't dry up this way. So, if it doesn't rain, we will have serious problems

"We don't have water to cook for our families; we don't have water to bathe our children for school; we don't even have water for our animals. Our poultry are dying from thirst; it's just so sad. The government has to listen to our cries."

Intervention:

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Tamale North, Alhaji Abdul Rahman Abreh, organized heavy trucks to dredge the dam on Saturday.

Bulldozers and excavators were at the dam site and are expected to spend a number of days dredging it.

Alhaji Abreh said the intervention was to temporarily reduce the struggles of residents while working with other water-based organizations to provide safer sources of water and permanent solutions for the residents.

"The dredging is to help get a temporary solution to the water crisis in the community. We're also working with other organizations and institutions to construct mechanized boreholes and wells because a community like Fuo can't continue to rely on this dam for water; it's unsafe because humans and animals cannot drink from the same source of water," the parliamentary candidate said.

The Fuo Chief, Naa Ziblim Tia, lauded the parliamentary candidate for his intervention, saying that several calls had been made for help, but only the parliamentary candidate responded to their call.

"We have made several calls for something to be done about our dam because it's our only source now. For you to have a quick intervention, we will be ungrateful if we don't highly commend you

"We are really happy with the kind of work that is going on here. This dam is not only used by our community; other communities, including Kalpohin and Kobilmahagu, depend on it. For us, our dam serves us more than the taps, so it's worrying that it's dried up completely. Your intervention will bring us some relief. We thank you so much," the chief said.

With Fuo getting some help, other communities without nearby dams continue to
struggle for water with the hope of seeing the rain soon.