A day after the damaged pipeline at Awoshie Water Works had been repaired, a number of people in parts of Accra are still searching for water.

From dawn to dusk, residents in areas such Darkoman, Bubuashie, Abeka, and Tesano were seen carrying gallons and jery cans to fetch water at different places.

At some places where there were hand dug wells and boreholes, residents, including children, had walked long distances to form queues using their yellow gallons, popularly referred to as ‘Kufuor gallons’, and other water storage items.

A resident of Darkoman, Dorothy Hammond told the Daily Graphic, she had to wake up at 2 am to begin her search for water.

“I had to go all the way to Lapaz to get two gallons of water after waiting for five hours in a long queue,” she said while pushing a truck with the gallons of water.

At Tesano Total in Accra, a few taps were flowing, while others in most homes were dry.

Sachet water for cooking

Households with flowing water cashed in on the situation to sell a gallon of water for GH¢1 and, in some cases, GH¢1.5 instead of 50Gp.

A food vendor at Tesano said she had to use sachet of purified water to cook her ‘wakye’ (food prepared from rice and beans).

“Because I used sachet water I had to increase my prices. I use to sell from GH¢1.50p put today I increased it to GH¢2. Even though some of my customers complained they understood when I explained to them. Luckily they all know about the water shortage situation.”

Pipeline repaired

The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) repaired the damaged pipeline of the Weija Water Treatment Plant which caused water shortage in some parts of  Accra on Thursday.

That, has restored water supply to some of the affected areas.

When the Daily Graphic team got to the site at Awoshie, at around 12.30 pm on Thursday, some officials from the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) were busy testing the repaired pipeline to see whether the leakages had ceased.

An official of  the GWCL, who pleaded anonymity, told the Daily Graphic that the leakage was a result of a loose bolt and  knot of the pipeline.

To ensure that the damage had been fixed, she said water was pumped from reservoirs at the GWCL to test the system.

After testing it was found that there were minor leakages but they were repaired before the end of Thursday.

In spite of the completion of the repairs works, water was still not flowing to many parts of the areas affected by the shut down of the Weija treatment plant.

Acute water shortage

Accra and its environs have been without water for almost one week following the breakdown of the Weija treatment plant.

The acute water shortage which hit parts of Accra started last Thursday.

On Wednesday, February 19, 2014, officials of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) were seen feverishly replacing an HDPE pipe along the transmission line from the Weija Water Treatment Plant to the Awoshie Water Works.

The cracked pipeline, which is responsible for the problem, had been leaking since last week, compelling the GWCL to stop water flowing from the Weija plant to other parts of Accra.