The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) says it would be forced to sanction management of the Ghana Water Company Limited if it goes ahead to shut down the Kpong Water Works.

The PURC says the impending shutdown would worsen the current water situation in the capital, Accra.

It has therefore requested the GWCL to respond to a directive to suspend the Kpong shutdown by Monday.

Nana Yaa Akyempim Jantuah, Director of Public Relations and External Affairs of PURC told Joy FM’s Top Story Thursday the PURC “will apply the sanction to the letter” if the GWCL disregards the directive.

“Failure to comply with the above directive makes the GWCL liable to committing an offence under section 38, 41 and 42 of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission Act (Act 538),” the PURC said in an earlier statement.

The PURC, for instance, can write to the Attorney General to arrest the managing director of GWCL, Nana Yaa Jantuah said.

She said the GWCL would only be allowed to shut the plant down if it furnished the Commission with details of contingency measures the company intends to deploy to mitigate the resultant shortage in water supply in Accra.

The Commission also required the GWCL to furnish it with a communication plan to inform consumers/customers on repairs at the Weija Transmission Pipelines and for the intended shut down of the Kpong Plant.

But Communications Manager at the Ghana Water Company, Nana Yaw Barnie told Top Story he is yet to receive any directive from the Commission concerning the shutdown of Kpong Water Works.

However, he confirmed to Joy News that work on a 40-inch transmission pipeline at Awoshie Water Works has been completed.

As a result of the burst pipeline, the Weija Treatment Plant was shutdown around midnight on Sunday, February 16, 2014, to drop pressures for the problem to be fixed.

“The final fixing and coupling of the pipe, including the necessary concrete anchorage was completed at 4.30 am today, 20th February 2014 and full production at the Weija Plant resumed at 5.55am,” a statement from the company said.

Meanwhile, Joy News’ checks at some areas indicate that taps were still not running as at Thursday evening.

But Nana Yaw Barnie explained the water has to flow with pressure and after the pipeline has been emptied for five days, it will take “a little bit of time” for water to go through the main distribution line and supply lines to consumers.

He will not give a definite time when every consumer would receive water, but said some consumers have since been having water flowing through their taps.