GWCL begins spillage of water at Weija dam

Authorities of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) have started the spillage of water from the Weija Dam in the Greater Accra Region as a result of the sudden rise in the water level.

Areas that will be affected by the spillage include: Tetegu, Oblogo, Pambros Salt, Lower McCarthy Hill, Weija, Bojo Beach and Ada Kopey.
A statement issued by the GWCL, therefore, advised residents in such areas and neighbouring communities to relocate to safer places.
It said individuals, institutions, organisations and companies with properties on the downstream side of the Dam “must note that the opening of the spillway may cause massive flooding along the lower course of the Densu River”.
Water level
According to the GWCL, the water level in the dam was 46.8ft, 0.6 metres above the maximum level required for the safety of the dam.
The Weija Lake covers an area of about 9,000 square hectares and serves over 2.5 million people in Accra East and West.

Activities
Some of the communities have cleared large portions of the vegetation surrounding the lake for farming purposes.
Such activities, among other challenges, cause the lake to lose much water due to the drying up of the moisture content of lands surrounding it.
As a result of the loss in protective cover, anytime it rain, soil erosion transfers huge volumes of sand into the water body causing much siltation and its attendant problems.

Visit
Meanwhile the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Kwaku Agyeman-Mensah has visited the dam site and treatment plant to assess the situation on the ground.
He was accompanied by his deputy, Mr Sampson Ahi; the acting Managing Director of the GWCL, Mr Fred Lokko, and other officials of the ministry and the GWCL.
The team was conducted round by the acting Manager of the Accra Tema Area Production of the GWCL, Mr Christian Siawor.

Spillages
Spillages from the Weija Dam are annual events which occur usually during the rainy seasons. Within a year, the dam could be spilled three to four times depending on the water level in the lake.
The maximum water level the dam can contain is pegged at about 47ft.
Early in April this year, the GWCL began spilling water from the dam to reduce the level in order to safeguard it from possible collapse.
In 2014, hundreds of homes in two communities in the Ga South municipality were submerged following the spillage of the Weija Dam by the GWCL.

Background
Construction of the Weija Dam began in 1974 and was completed in 1978 by an Italian company, Messrs Tahi.
It is said to be the second urban water system to be constructed in Ghana, after Birimso in Cape Coast in the Central Region.
The Weija Lake has been formed over the Densu River in the Ga South municipality, which flows for about 116 kilometres from the Atiwa Mountains where it takes its source.
The river traverses three regions — Eastern, Central and Greater Accra, where it enters the sea at Bortianor in the Ga South municipality.