The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) is to expand water supply systems in eight selected districts in the Central Region to provide potable water to rural communities.
The programme being executed under the Sustainable Rural Water and Sanitation Project with funding from the World Bank, is expected to increase water coverage for the region from 63.8 per cent to 70.04 per cent by the end of the year.
Beneficiary districts include Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese, Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam, Agona West, Assin South, Asikuma-Odoben-Brakwa, Gomoa West, Awutu Senya and Mfantsiman.
The Chief Executive of the CWSA, Worlanyo Siabi, announced this during the tour of on-going projects by board members and officials of the organisation
The tour was to assess the progress of expansion work being carried out by the CWSA in the region and also look at strategies being put in place to ensure efficient and effective potable water service delivery to rural communities.
Mr Siabi said the CWSA had also initiated the process to increase supply of potable water from a number of water systems in and around Assin Foso.
He said the CWSA was installing a modern automated water treatment plant in the area to improve the quality of water, adding that “we are putting up new offices and laboratory to check the quality of water from the water systems.”
It is expected that the projects when completed, would serve a population of 216,615 in 154 communities in the eight beneficiary districts, he said.
Mr Siabi, however, expressed concern about the effect of illegal mining on the provision of potable water, saying that, underground water was seriously being compromised by activities of galamsey, thereby, affecting operations of the CWSA in the northern part of the region.
For the southern part, he said, the challenge was high concentration of iron in the underground water, but was quick to say that, the CWSA was addressing the challenge.
The Chairman of the Board of the CWSA, Kwesi Eduafo Yankey, in his remarks, said that the board was working hard to ensure the recruitment of qualified staff, improve the quality of water and increase the quantum of potable water produced for the people.
The Regional Director of the CWSA, Kwesi Brown, said his outfit was collaborating with the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to ensure the supply of potable water to selected communities.
He gave the assurance that the problem of water quality would be resolved soon, adding that work was on-going to ensure the expansion of water coverage to rural communities and small towns within the region.
FROM DAVID O YARBOI-TETTEH, ASSIN FOSO
