The Western Regional Minister, Joseph Nelson, has issued an urgent directive to the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to promptly demarcate buffer zones around the Daboase water treatment plant and to cease all unauthorised activities within the vicinity.
This initiative aims to safeguard the €70 million water expansion project, designed to supply 22 million gallons of water daily to Sekondi-Takoradi and its surrounding communities.
This seeks to combat encroachment by landowners, many of whom claim ignorance regarding the existence of these buffer zones.
Originally constructed in the late 1960s, the Daboase plant has a capacity of six million gallons per day, while the Inchaban plant can produce four million gallons per day. However, both facilities are struggling to meet the region’s burgeoning water demand.
The situation is exacerbated by illegal mining activities, which have significantly increased water turbidity, causing production levels to plummet from the original six million gallons per day to a mere 16,000 gallons daily.
According to him, encroachment on the buffer zones during the dry season poses an additional threat to water safety and supply.
Minister Nelson remarked, “Up there, you can see the level of encroachment of the buffer zone; absolutely, the buffer zone has grown, and we know that.
“It means this river will start to dry up more than we used to witness even in the dry season. For us having a 100,000 cubic metre plant, a day capacity to set down ideal.”
During his familiarisation tour of the Daboase facility, Minister Nelson reiterated the urgency of demarcating the buffer zones. He also instructed local chiefs to halt any ongoing or planned activities within these protected areas.
The €70 million Sekondi-Takoradi Water Expansion Project, launched in May 2022 by the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources in collaboration with the GWCL, is being executed by the Austrian construction firm Strabag.
Upon completion, the new Daboase plant will produce 22 million gallons of water per day.
According to Project Manager Vlad Falup, the project is currently 86% complete and is scheduled for final completion on 7 November 2025.
