By Murtala Issah
The planned temporary closure of the Ghana Water Company Limited’s operations at Nawuni in the Kumbungu District of the Northern region may not take place following a steady drop in the water level over the past forty eight hours.
The water level in the White Volta River at the intake point in Nawuni has seen a steady rise for twenty six days, from 23.50ft on September 1, 2022, peaking at 33.90ft on September 26.
According to the GWCL, the maximum operational level for its operations is 36 ft. The company issued a statement last week, warning of a potential closure of its operations and urged residents to store water. The announcement got stakeholders including the Northern Regional Coordinating Council worried.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Saani Alhassan Shaibu, at a meet the press forum in Accra, warned of dire consequences if the GWCL were to shut down their operations. It appears, however, that these fears may not materialise as the water level has started dropping.
On Tuesday, September 27, the water level dropped from 33.90ft to 33.87ft, further dropping to 33.70ft on Wednesday.
Despite this latest development, the GWCL says it is too early to celebrate. The Public Relations Officer of the Company, Nii Abbey, in an interview with GBC News, noted that, “it is early days yet to say we are out of the woods, even though we have seen some drop in yesterday and today, but don’t forget, we are still in the rainy season, it’s raining and sometimes it takes days for the impact to be felt at our intake point. Yes, there has been some drop, but not as we would expect, and so for now, it doesn’t call for jubilation. Until that time that we realise that it’s (water level) below 30 ft, then we can say we are out of the woods. For now, continuous monitoring is what we will be doing” .
