Managing Director of Ghana Water Limited (GWL), Adam Mutawakilu, has revealed that more than half of the water produced by the company is unaccounted for, largely due to weak infrastructure and widespread illegal connections.
Speaking on Citi FM’s Breakfast Show, Mr. Mutawakilu said Ghana’s daily water demand is estimated at about 350 million gallons, but current production levels fall significantly short.
“The demand is about 350 million gallons a day. That means that, all things being equal, that is the amount of water we are supposed to produce daily. But currently, we produce 214 million gallons, leaving a shortfall of about 136 million gallons every day,” he said.
He noted that the situation is most critical in Accra, which consumes the bulk of the country’s water supply.
“If we narrow it down to Accra, the daily demand is 210 million gallons, but we produce only 137 million. Accra alone accounts for 60 to 70 percent of the demand, so there is a shortfall of about 73 million gallons in the capital,” he explained.
According to the GWL Managing Director, a major contributor to the deficit is the high level of water losses within the transmission and distribution network, much of which is outdated and fragile.
“When you consider transmission and distribution, that is another problem. Most of our infrastructure is weak. We also have illegal connections, with people using water without paying, meaning 52 percent of the water produced is unaccounted for,” he said.
Mr. Mutawakilu stressed that addressing infrastructure challenges and cracking down on illegal connections will be key to improving water supply and reducing losses nationwide.
