|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Volta River Authority (VRA) has warned of great catastrophe for some areas if the Akosombo Dam exceeds its operational level.
It said that areas along the bank of the Volta River, including communities up to Tema would all be wiped out and nobody would survive such tragedy.
Deputy Chief Executive of VRA, Edward Obeng Kenzo explained that for this reason, more water may have to be spilled from the dam if its current level rises in order to prevent any unanticipated calamity.
He indicated that even though VRA has no intention of spilling any more water in the coming days, the dam is only 0.24 feet away from reaching its maximum operational level of 277.5, which could cause it to break down and cause unimaginable disaster.
“We don’t want to spill any additional volume of water. We are tracking and with the data, we believe that we may not spill any volume of water. But if there should be any unexpected heavy rains into the dam, we’ll be compelled to spill. Where we are now, we are around 277.26 feet of water behind the dam. The dam’s operational level is 276; the maximum allowable operational level of the dam is 277.5 feet,” he said in an interview on Citi FM which was monitored by Newshuntermag.com.
“If the dam should break, the volume of water that will come out of the dam – all those along the banks of the river, all the way to somewhere around Tema will be wiped into the sea. No human being will be saved, no structure will be saved, nothing will be saved,” he warned.
Due to a persistent rise in inflow patterns and water levels in the Akosombo reservoir, the VRA in September commenced controlled spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams.
The spillage has caused several homes in South, North, and Central Tongu, Asuogyaman, and other areas to be submerged, affecting thousands of residents.
