The Member of Parliament for Tema East, Isaac Ashai Odamtten has appealed to the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) to provide communities in the metropolis with water tanks to mitigate the shortage of potable water.

Mr Isaac Ashai Odamtten’s call follows complaints registered by residents in the locality over the unavailability of treated water.

Members of the Assembly in an earlier meeting registered their displeasure to the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) about irregular water supply to their communities.

According to them, the last time the Company served the communities with water was about six to eight months ago.

Based on the issues raised, Mr Ashai Odamtten suggested that “the Assembly should consider the installation of big water reservoirs in communities to help those in low lying areas that are not receiving water.”

He noted that not every resident, especially those in slums and densely populated areas, could afford the services of private water tankers to meet their needs, therefore, urged the Assembly to provide them with community tankers.

The Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Felix Mensah said the Assembly received complaints from the traditional leaders and the GWCL was informed about the challenge, which had forced residents to rely on tankers for water supply.

Responding to the issue, Alhaji Alhassan Baba, Acting Tema Regional Distribution Manager, GWCL, attributed the problem to demands higher as against its supply of water.

He said the pipelines laid in the 1950s are currently insufficient for the increasing population and industries.

Alhaji Baba noted that the three tanks at the Tema Booster Station provided water for a large area, including Tema, Kpone, Ningo-Prampram, Ashaiman, through to the 37 Military Hospital and parts of the Eastern Region.