For the past one week, water supply from Kpong to Tema and Accra East has been disrupted as a result of a burst pipe on the Ghana Water Company (GWC) system. Due to the unavailability of water, residents have been compelled to go round with gallons and buckets in search of water. The areas affected include Tema, Afienya, Ashaiman, Teshie, Nungua and Cantonments. Officials of the company said the pressure from the 42-inch ruptured pipe was so great that it sent the water gushing unto the Akuse-Kpong road which was about 100 metres away. A car which tried to cross the flooded road was involved in an accident. It took the combined efforts of the GWC Pipeline Maintenance Team and a seven-member team of engineers, welders and plumbers from Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) to rectify the situation. When The Ghanaian Times newspaper visited the site located about two kilometres from Akuse on Friday, the team was seen busily welding a new pipe and pumping out water that was flowing out of the system. Mr. Irenious Buule, General Manager of Production, Accra - Tema Metropolitan Area of GWC, said on Tuesday the pipelines in the area were shut down for routine maintenance and when water supply was resumed later in the day, they had information in the night that there had been a pipe burst. He said the burst took place along the old pipeline laid in the 1960s. Mr. Buule said initially they welded the area of the pipeline that was burst, but when supply resumed, it gave in. They, therefore, decided to cut off nine feet of the old pipe and replace it with a new one. He said it cost the company about GH¢8,000 to repair the fault. Mr. Paul Asmah, Maintenance Director of VALCO, said as part of their social responsibility to ensure the welfare of the communities around them, they joined the GWC team on Thursday to repair the fault. In addition, VALCO brought along a generator and lighting system to the personnel to light up the area during the night. He said they were privileged to have taken part in the exercise and reiterated their preparedness to team up with the GWC in future projects. Mr. Senyo Amengor, Chief Operations Officer, ATMA GWC, expressed gratitude to VALCO for the support, and apologised for any inconvenience that the disruption in water supply might have caused. Source: The Ghanaian Times/Ghana