Regional News of Wednesday, 8 June 2005

Source: GNA

GWCL equipment in Cape Coast submerged

Cape Coast, June 8, GNA - Mr Kwaku Dovlo, Central Regional Director of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), on Wednesday assured residents of Cape Coast that his outfit was working around the clock to restore water supply, which was cut off when floods submerged the company's water pumping equipment at the weekend.

Mr Dovlo, who gave the assurance in an interview with the GNA at Cape Coast, explained that it became impossible to pump water from the Brimsu Dam, because an "underground basement where the pumping machines have been installed, got flooded submerging the machines following a heavy down pour last Saturday and Sunday. He said as a result, the company had to wait for the floodwater to recede, to assess the damage caused and that a blockage had been detected, making it impossible to pump raw water from the Dam for treatment.

Mr Dovlo said the company had contacted a diver from Accra to investigate, the problem adding that in the meantime, an "old raw water pipe line" was being repaired for water supply to low lying areas in and around the municipality. He appealed to residents to exercise restraint, since water supply would soon be fully restored. In a related development, some people living near Duakor, a suburb of Cape Coast, have been rendered homeless when the Brimsu Dam spilled over and flooded the area.