Akosombo Dam water recedes

12/11/2010

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
THE water level in the Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam, which hit an all-time high of 277.54 feet 11 days ago, has started receding.
The volume of water dropped from 277.54 feet to 277.42 feet on Wednesday, according to Mr Kweku Awotwi, the Chief Executive of the Volta River Authority (VRA).
The increased volume in the dam compelled the VRA to open six of the 12 spill-ways to allow 40,000 cubic feet of water to flow per second to save the dam from any possible danger.
Mr Awotwi said if the water in the dam continued to drop at the same volume, the VRA would stop the spillage by the weekend.
He attributed the decrease in the water level to reduction in rainfall and inflows into the lake.
Mr Awotwi was speaking after a tour of some affected communities that are either close to the Volta Lake or lying along the path of the lake.
Four hundred and forty-six people, comprising 85 men, 114 women and 247 children, have been displaced in 10 island communities at Adafoah, following the flooding of those areas, according to a National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) report.
The communities are Azizakpe, Alorkem, Tsatwersonya, Aflive, Alorwusodokope, Adjim, Azizanya, Tisikewunor, Kakitsekope and Amesikpe.
A few houses have developed cracks while parts of the communities have been flooded.
Some of the residents have been relocated in tents provided by NADMO.
At Aveyime, the spillage resulted in the flooding of the pumping station of the Aveyime Water and Sanitation Services.
The floods destroyed one of the pipes and washed away a suction valve, a cage, a canoe and live jackets.
It was the first time in 20 years that the VRA had to spill water from the dam, which is the main source of hydroelectric power generation in the country.
Mr Awotwi said it was likely the VRA would spill water from the dam next year if the country experienced average rainfall.
The Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Winfred Tesia, said the education on the possible flooding of the island communities had helped to prevent fatalities as the people moved to high grounds when the flooding began.