Nearly GH¢6m spent to fix Kpong-Tema transmission lines to improve water supply – GWL

The Ghana Water Limited (GWL) says it has invested close to GH¢6 million to replace weak and perforated sections of its transmission lines between Kpong and Tema as part of efforts to improve water supply to communities in the Greater Accra Region.

Communications Manager of Ghana Water Limited, Stanley Martey, said the company had identified significant challenges along the transmission network which were affecting the volume of water reaching its Tema booster station.

Speaking in an interview on the Joy FM Super Morning Show on Wednesday, October 7, Mr Martey said the company had discovered that between 40 and 50 per cent of water pumped from Kpong was being lost before reaching the Tema booster station.

He said the discovery had prompted GWL to invest heavily in replacing sections of the transmission lines that had become weak or perforated.

“In recent times, I think about a month ago, we announced to the public that we have identified some problems along our transmission mains from Kpong to Tema,” Mr Martey said.

He explained that the problems were affecting the volume of water that eventually reached Tema.

“When we pump the water from Kpong, we don’t get the exact volumes at Tema, at our Tema booster station. For instance, you pump, and by the time it gets to the booster station, we’ve lost 40 to 50 per cent,” he said.

According to Mr Martey, GWL had to determine the cause of the losses before taking steps to address them.

“We needed to find out what it was, so we had to invest close to GH¢6 million to change the weaker portions, and then there were perforated lines along the area,” he said.

The repairs, he explained, had resulted in more water reaching the Tema system. However, the company is still dealing with low pressure in parts of the network.

“We’re expecting that there will be more water. Now we are getting more water, but pressures are rather low, so we still need to troubleshoot and identify the challenges,” he said.

Mr Martey said the company had therefore intensified its monitoring of the network to identify the remaining faults and improve pressure.

“We have guys on the ground monitoring on a daily basis, and they report to us. I can show you platforms where we are recording pressures on an hourly basis,” he said.

He explained that the monitoring enables GWL to identify areas where pressure is low and take measures to improve the situation.

“So if you realise that the pressures are low, whatever we have to do to improve the pressures, we do it,” Mr Martey said.

Mr Martey disclosed that GWL was now using Doppler measurements to track the movement and volume of water at different points along the transmission lines.

He said the approach would help the company narrow down the areas where water was being lost or where other faults were affecting supply.

“What we are doing now is to use the Doppler effect,” he said.

He explained that the company was measuring water volumes at different points along the transmission network.

“We are measuring the volumes of water at different portions of the lines and closing it down, closing it up, so that we’ll be able to zoom into the areas where the challenges are,” he said.

While efforts continue to address the technical challenges, Mr Martey acknowledged that the gap between water demand and available supply remained a major problem.

He appealed to consumers to recognise that the current situation would require more efficient distribution of the available water.

“I want everybody to appreciate the fact that we have that problem of demand and supply, so it’s going to create a problem,” he said.

“That problem is already there, but then with a little water in the system, we need to distribute it equitably.”

Mr Martey said the company was working to ensure that communities receive water at least once or twice a week, depending on their location and the availability of supply.

“So we all should expect to get water a minimum of two times a week,” he said.