Residents in Kpeve and surrounding communities in the Volta Region are experiencing a disruption in water supply after Ghana Water Limited shut down the Kpeve Water Treatment Plant due to dangerously high turbidity levels in the Volta Lake.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews' The Pulse on Monday, the GWL Public Relations Officer, Stanley Martey, explained that the treatment plant was forced to suspend operations because the raw water had become too muddy for the facility to process safely.

According to him, water treatment plants are designed based on years of studying the source water to determine the highest and lowest turbidity levels they can handle.

Mr. Martey noted that the Kpeve plant, which draws water from the Volta Lake, was built to treat water with turbidity levels of up to about 25 NTU, with operators occasionally able to manage slightly higher levels.

However, recent readings have exceeded 400 NTU, far beyond the plant’s operational capacity.
“At the last point, we recorded over 400 NTU, which is way above the maximum threshold the treatment plant can treat. That is why we had to shut it down,” he stated.

He attributed the recurring problem to encroachment activities around the intake point, particularly sand winning and other disturbances affecting the lake’s water quality.

He said management had already raised concerns about the issue in October 2025 after a similar incident and warned that the situation would worsen if the activities were not stopped.

“In October last year, management visited the area and warned that if the encroachment around the intake point continued, we would keep facing these challenges and would have no option but to shut down anytime the turbidity rises beyond acceptable levels,” he added.

Mr. Martey disclosed that the plant has been shut down several times in recent months, including twice within the past week alone, leaving many households without water.

He appealed to residents and local authorities to help address the encroachment around the intake area to prevent future disruptions in water supply.