The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has started dredging the Intake Plant Site at Daboase in the Wassa East District, to boost water production, so as to minimize the water rationing in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis and its environs.

The Company has also procured equipment awaiting installation at Bosomase alternative Plant to resuscitate it in order to augment the Daboase Treatment Plant to meet the demand for water supply in the Region.

Briefing the media during a tour to the Site, Engineer Vincent Opoku Ware Darko, Western Regional Production Manager of GWCL, hinted that the current demand for water had gone up by 60 per cent.

He explained that the designed capacity for the Daboase Treatment Plant was 27,000 cubic metres per day with an average capacity of 22,000 cubic metres, but currently has a daily production capacity of 16,000 cubic metres.

He said the evaporation of the water and lack of inflows into the Pra River due to the Harmattan and ‘galamsey’ activities, which has brought silt into the intake site coupled with activities happening upstream of the river as some contributing factors to the low level of water at the Site.

Ing. Darko lamented that 15 per cent of the water collected at the Site was thrown away due to the high turbidity of the water and high silt in-build, adding, “this has affected our cost for treatment to go up from GH¢1.20 a day to GH¢2.00 a day per cubic metre.”

Nana Yaw Barnie, Western Regional Public Relation Officer, also explained that the amount of water taken from the intake point has so much silt, which needed to be desilted, hence the dredging to create space for collection of more water.

He stated that about 45 per cent of the dredging work had been completed and was hopeful that it would be completed by the end of the week.

He therefore pleaded with the residents to bear with the company as they put measures to curtail the situation, and called on them to store water and use water judiciously till the situation was brought under control in April when the rains would set in.