Plans are far advanced for the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to replace its structurally weak and old corroded cast iron water pipes with ductile iron pipes distribution in Cape Coast and some parts of the Central Region.

The phasing out project, which is set to be piloted in coastal areas and ancient towns, is expected to significantly improve production and quality supply of water.

Structurally weak and corroded pipes have been identified as one of the major challenges facing the GWCL at Cape Coast and some other ancient towns in the Region have had water pipes laid years before independence without any major replacement.

Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, made this known when she paid a working visit to the Sekyere Hemang Water Supply System on Saturday, and stressed the need to improve the quality of water supplied for consumption.

Her visit was necessitated by recent water shortage in Cape Coast, Elmina and some parts of the Region to ascertain at first hand information on the challenges and the work being done to increase water production in the Region.

“This is an ongoing process, I understand some of the pipes are over 60 years. We have begun a process to replace these old pipes with ductile pipes which cannot corrode and will stand the test of time. The phasing out will take time and a lot of resources,” she stated.

Although, she could not state exactly how much it would cost to replace the old pipes, she admitted a lot of recourses were required for the exercise to be executed successfully.

The Minister expressed shock that despite the fight against illegal mining, many operators were vigorously engaging in the activity and appealed to Ghanaians especially those living along water bodies to be vigilant and report such cases.

“We should prevent the few greedy people who indulge in galamsey to stop”.

She advised Ghanaians to be conscious of activities that had negative impact on water systems in the country, adding that, the more water bodies were polluted, the more resources required for water treatment.

She assured that Government would do everything possible to address the challenges facing the Company for it to deliver quality services.

Mr. Emmanuel Opoku, Central Regional Chief Manager of the GWCL, explained that all three pumping machines at the Sekyere Hemang water supply system had been damaged due to rigorous illegal mining activities on the Pra River. The Sekyere Hemang Water Supply System pumps about 40 per cent of the overall water supply to Cape Coast, Elmina and its environs.

The situation has affected water supply to Cape Coast, Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem and some parts of the Central Region as residents had to grapple with how to get water for domestic use for weeks now.

He said the GWCL currently produced 13 million gallons of water per day as against the 31 million gallons demanded every day in the Region.

He urged the public to exercise restraint as the Company took steps to get the damaged pumps fixed and weak pipelines replaced.