The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has began spilling excess water from the Weija Dam.
The water from spillway may cause massive flooding along the lower course of the Densu River.
[contextly_sidebar id=”r5aRjvBouHJ2HpvSB4piVRzotZgO6QhV”]”Property owners and residents in the area are therefore advised to take immediate precautionary measures to protect life and property,” a statement issued by the GWCL noted.
The spillage has been necessitated by Wednesday’s heavy rainfall which has claimed the lives of about 150 people.
Communities that are likely to be affected during the exercise include; Tetegu, Oblogo, Pambros Salt, Lower McCarthy Hill, Weija, Bojo Beach, Ada Kopey and other surrounding communitites.
Speaking on Eyewitness News, the Communications Manager at the GWCL , Stanley Martey said the GWCL has no option but to carry out the exercise adding that it had done the necessary sensitisation.
Many residents living around the area in an interview with Citi News, expressed their unwillingness to evacuate for the exercise to be carried out, however Mr. Martey said more properties will be destroyed if the integrity of the dam is not safeguarded.
“We are talking about the River Densu; it streches over 100 kilometers and look at the volumes of water in it so it is not something that we need to joke with. If you know the weight and the power of water we will not joke with it.”
“We cherish every life and that is why we are opening the spillways for excess water to go…”
According to him, the most sensible and wise thing to do is to spill, because the water levels keep rising everyday.
Some have threatened to sue the GWCL if lives and properties in the process, however Mr. Martey in response described those threats as a “joke”.
He said residents in the area have no justification to sue the Company since the buildings in the have not been sanctioned in the first place.
“They have all built into the waterways and the dam has been there before they moved into the area. I dont want to say it is a joke but it sounds like a joke.”
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By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah