Residents of Somanya residents petition Public Utilities Regulatory Commission over prolonged water crisis

Residents of Agavenya, the Mount Mary College of Education community, Takper and other surrounding areas in Somanya in the Yilo Krobo Municipality have petitioned the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to intervene in the ongoing water crisis affecting the area.

The residents say hundreds of households have been without potable water for several weeks after a major water pipeline serving the communities was damaged by a contractor working on the Adjikpo-Asitey section of the Somanya-Kpong road project.

Channel One TV can confirm that delays in repairing the damaged pipeline have forced residents in the affected communities to resort to using water from the untreated Onuma Stream, which flows from Adjikpo through Agavenya and Sawyer to the Mount Mary College of Education junction.

Other residents who are reluctant to fetch water from the untreated Onuma Stream, which is polluted along its course by open drains connected to the stream and activities involving animals, have resorted to buying borehole water from tanker operators at costs ranging between GH¢250 and GH¢300.

The residents describe the situation as unsustainable, saying the expense is placing a heavy financial burden on households.

Information available to Channel One TV indicates that repair works have stalled because the contractor responsible for damaging the pipeline has yet to provide the funds needed to restore the facility.

Some affected residents who spoke to Channel One TV said the disruption has had a severe impact on households, educational institutions, businesses and other establishments within the affected communities, forcing many to travel considerable distances daily in search of alternative water sources.