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The Weija Dam, which supplies potable water to more than  three million people, will soon be forced to produce below its required capacity unless urgent actions are taken to halt  illegal activities by communities in the catchment area of  the dam.

The dam, which was constructed in 1978, continues to be exposed to illegal activities, including indiscriminate harvesting of wood in the catchment area, sand winning and quarrying activities, farming along the dam area, and the use of harmful chemicals in fishing.

Another destructive activity is the dumping of solid and liquid waste from domestic and industrial sources into the dam. 

The  Water Quality Assurance Manager at the Weija Head Works of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Mr Nicholas Heneampong Okyere, said a total of 240 dead bodies had been found in the dam over the last 30 years.

He made this known when a non-governmental organisation, Rural Urban Partnership for Africa (RUPFA), paid a courtesy call on the management of the Weija Head Works of GWCL.

The purpose of the visit was for the two institutions to discuss possible ways of working together to address the problem that threatens the existence of the dam.

Communities’ activities
The nine communities whose activities pose a  danger to the dam are Joma, Abozome, Agape Down, Machigeni, Amanfro, Galilea, Mahia, Tomefa and Weija.

According to Mr Okyere, those communities, after all the education given to them, continued to indulge in destructive practices that expose the dam to danger.

“Every day we spot residents from these communities engaging in illegal activities close to the dam. Either they are cutting down trees meant to provide protection to the dam or throwing waste into the dam,” he said.

Mr Okyere observed that the fishermen cut wood and put it in the middle of the lake as technique to trap the fishes, adding that “once this happens and they succeed in catching the fishes, they leave   the wood as waste in the dam”.

Water quality
Although he could not give figures, Mr Okyere said GWCL spent millions of cedis annually to purchase chemicals to treat the water.

“This is because the water is always green and very unhealthy to use. The case becomes worse when it rains as all the sand finds it way directly into the dam,” he added.

Mr Okyere said although  national security personnel had been deployed to cover all the areas noted for sand winning, “the residents continue to engage in the activity”.

RUPFA Awareness
The Executive Director of RUPFA, Mr Richard Ashaley, said the organisation would collaborate with stakeholders such as the Forestry Commission to educate the residents about the harmful effect of their activities.

He announced that the organisation would launch a campaign in August, this year, at Weija to create awareness of the need to protect the Weija Dam from being exposed to destruction.

Mr Ashaley, therefore, appealed to the management of Weija Dam to provide them with the technical assistance when the campaign commences.