Regional News of Thursday, 31 January 2013

Source: GNA

PURC to engage Ghana Water to minimise repair work impact

The Public Utility Regulatory Commission (PURC) said on Wednesday that it would engage the Management of Ghana Water Company to find ways to ensure that repair works on the filters have minimal impact on consumers.

The Ghana Water Company has proposed a six- month rationing of water supply to parts of Accra and Tema, following structural defects in four of its 12 filters at the Weija Treatment Plant.

Dr Emmanuel Annan, Chairman of PURC, who led a team of commissioners of the PURC to the Weija Treatment Plant to assess the extent of damage to the filters, told journalists that the situation demanded further analysis for the way forward.

He said while the situation raised a number of questions, especially as the damage to the filters might have occurred overtime, the PURC main aim would be to protect and minimise the impact on consumers.

“We want to act as quickly as possible to minimise the impact,” he said, adding that the Commission is ready to offer its assistance to the Company to ensure that the work is speedily done to bring comfort to consumers.

Mr Michael Amuakwa, Regional Production Manager Weija, said the structural defects needed to be corrected so as to guarantee good quality water from the treatment plant.

He said the work would involve redesigning the filter bed concept to ensure effective and efficient operations, adding that the time it would take to complete the work would depend on the design.

Mr Irenious Buule, Chief Production Manager for Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area, said out of the12 filters three are damaged while the one on the verge of breakdown would be repaired next month.