Kumasi, Sept. 21, GNA - The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) loses 35 per cent of its revenue from treated water through illegal connections. Mrs Sophia Morney, Deputy Administrative Director of the GWCL in Ashanti, said pipes connected by the Company are buried in the ground while illegal connections are exposed.

Mrs Morney was speaking at the inauguration of the Kumasi Academy branch of the Water, Energy and Resources Conservation Club (WERCCO), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) for Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) in the Ashanti Region.

Mrs Morney, also the National President of WERCCO, appealed to the public to report all such illegal connections to the Company since production of treated water "is costly and the Company cannot continue to lose revenue through such illegal acts".

She appealed to Chiefs to refrain from selling lands within GWCL catchment areas for development, citing Bekwai and Konongo where "lands around catchment areas have been encroached upon, thereby making it difficult to provide regular potable water to the inhabitants."

Mrs Morney called on members of the Club to intensify their education campaign on water conservation. This is "because although the earth surface is covered by about 75 per cent water, 97 per cent of it, is salty, two per cent is frozen and only about one per cent is fresh water which is suitable for drinking".

Mr Dennis Addo, the Secretary, said WERCCO was established in 1996 to sensitise students and the public on the need to conserve water and preserve other natural resources in view of the high rate of Ghana's population growth.

The Club has branches in Opoku Ware School, Prempeh College, Kumasi High School, Yaa Asantewaa Secondary School, Saint Louis Secondary School and Saint Hubert's Seminary.