GWCL remains committed to Delivering Quality Water to Consumers – MD assures
THE Managing Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Ing Dr. Cliford Abdullah has assured Ghanaians that the company remained committed to providing quality drinking and industrial water to consumers despite an increasing cost of production.
He said the company is determined to continue to operate in a more transparent and accountable system to meet the demands and needs of consumers whiles strengthening the loopholes that allow illegal connections.
Dr. Abdullah gave the assurance during the media Briefing and Exhibition programme on Wednesday, August 10, 2022, in Accra.
The event was also used to launch an Operational Guidance on “Safety Plant” for a roll-out in all GWCL Operational regions.
Speaking on the theme, “Accounting to our Customers”. the MD expressed concern about the activities of illegal surface mining which he noted continue to affect the quality of water largely used by the GWCL for treatment and onwards distribution to consumers.
He admitted customers face high water tariffs but attributed it to the activities of the illegal miners which directly led to the cost of chemicals for water treatment and operation, emphasizing that, sand winning and pollution of water bodies cause high turbidity and increase treatment and production costs.
Dr. Abdullah noted that the GWCL has over the years, been a to withstand the daunting challenges to produce and supply water to customers with a clear cut of determination and a sense of purpose to fulfill its national mandate to Ghanaians.
He touched on the numerous daily challenges that affect its operations in its quest to deliver quality services to customers.
Besides the Illegal mining, sand winning and pollution of water bodies causing high turbidity and increasing treatment and production costs, the MD said the company also identified frequent power outages leading to disruption in water supply and damages to equipment and machinery at some water production centers,
He added that the vandalization of transmission pipelines and distribution lines by road contractors resulting in pipe bursts and leakages and water thefts of all forms, especially illegal connections & meter by-passes are all issues affecting not only regular supply but poor revenue mobilization.
Other challenges that the GWCL faces, according to the MD, are the indiscriminate building on pipelines and the encroachment on utility reservations by some residential developers.
Notwithstanding the challenges, Dr. Abdullah said the company has achieved some milestone penetration and currently serving over 8000 customers across the length and breadth of the country and should be graciously acknowledged for that.
“We have replaced and installed pumps of various types in most of our headwork have to increase production to meet the demands of our customers. Bulk and commercial meters are being replaced to enhance accurate reading and billing. We have achieved 99% compliance to the 6 key operational water quality parameters namely: pH, colour, alkalinity, turbidity, residual chlorine and bacteriological analysis,” he stated.
The MD explained that other to continue to meet the demands of customers and to resonate with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)6 of ensuring water access for all by 2030, the company is working to expand the number of water treatment plants and construct new ones.
In addition to that, he said the company is extending the distribution main lines in all the regions to increase water supply while maintaining quality.
“ All these encouraging results amidst all the challenges, I will say are an indication that the company is on track, “ Dr. Abdullah added.
He disclosed that GWCL has introduced Asset inventory and leakage mapping systems (digitization of leakage reporting and management system) which would improve pipe replacement programmes, thereby reducing leakages/bursts within the various communities, saying, “ It is worthy to note that 10,000km of the network has been mapped unto GIS.”
As part of the future plans, the MD said, GWCL would embark on community engagements to sensitize its cherished customers on all issues that pertain to them in respect of water supply, billing and others.
.“There will be a constant collaboration between the GWCL and other institutions and organizations such as the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to provide timely information to customers in the event of power cuts leading to interruptions in water supply, the Water Resources Commission (WRC) to discuss issues with water resources and all external stakeholders to enhance the existing rapport we have”.
Currently, he said the GWCL has a working staff strength of 5,280 nationwide, 860,000 customers, both government and private customers and have enjoyed a peaceful working environment, devoid of industrial unrest from 2017 to date.
Dr. Abdullah commended the staff of GWCL for the success over the years and noted assured that effort was being made to improve customer services with a more technological drive on the electronic billing and payment systems that started in 2015 to reduce armchair reading, billing errors and make customer payments easier and accessible.
He added that, as part of policies to enhance customer interactions, management is putting plans to digitize the new service connection processes to ensure that with the use of a mobile app, customers could apply for new service at their convenience and monitor its progress.
Source: expressnewsghana.com
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