Low Water Level Affects Operation Of Senchi Pontoons

A drastic reduction in the level of water in the Volta Lake has affected the smooth operations of the two pontoons on the lake at Senchi in the Asuogyaman District in the Eastern Region. Because of that plans are underway to redesign and re-engineer the landing site at both ends of the lake. This came to light when the Minister of Transport, Mrs Dzifa Aku Attivor, paid a working visit to Senchi to acquaint herself with the challenges faced by travellers who use the ferry. Briefing the media after the visit, Mrs Attivor said the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, the Ghana Maritime Authority and the Volta Lake Transport had already visited the site to conduct feasibility studies. According to her, an additional wharf is needed at the Akrade end of the lake to facilitate the landing of the two ferries. She appealed to travellers, especially those using the Adomi Bridge and the ferry, to bear with the government as every effort was being made to finish the repair works on the bridge as scheduled. Water level The Project Manager at the Senchi Ferry site, Mr Benjamin Keelson, said for the past one-and-a-half months, the company had started experiencing low water levels, which made operations on the lake very difficult. According to him, the required level of water was 27 metres at high tide, adding that currently the level had gone down to 3.7 metres. He said the rise in water levels depended on the volume of water discharged from the operations of the Akosombo and the Akuse dams. He said checks from the two companies revealed that the Akuse Dam was conducting a retrofitting exercise, which had resulted in the low water levels. State of the ferry Mr Keelson further stated that in the past few weeks there had been the breakdown of the two ferries, attributing the breakdown to the low water levels of the lake. He observed that the ferry consumed more fuel whenever the water level was low, because the engines of the ferries were overstretched. He suggested the reduction of the height of the wharf to enhance safe landing of the ferries.