Bagre dam spillage forces GWCL to shut down operations in Tamale

The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has halted operations in Tamale and its environs in the Northern Region over the spillage of the Bagre dam.

The company has thus shut down parts of its treatment plant for the “protection of its equipment and installations”, a statement from the company announced.

Management of the water company says it is following standard operating procedure because the in-take dam has exceeded its maximum level.

“Any operation beyond the maximum operating feet puts the water facility in jeopardy, which could lead to the entire collapse and destruction of its equipment and installations”, the release further added.

The GWCL intends to resume operations after the water level return to its appropriate limit.

The spillage of the Bagre dam from neighbouring Burkina Faso is done annually to prevent any breakage of the dam’s banks.

This exercise results in flooding in low-lying communities, destruction to crops, livestock and sometimes loss of lives in Burkina Faso and Ghana.

35 communities along the White Volta in the Bawku Municipality, Bawku West, Garu, Binduri, Nabdam and Talensi districts are the hard-hit areas.

Over the years, several homes, farmlands and properties have been destroyed by floods and rendered hundreds homeless.