Akosombo Dam: Not spilling would have been more catastrophic – John Mahama

It would have been more disastrous if authorities had not spilled excess water from the Akosombo Dam, former President John Dramani Mahama said.

Mr Mahama explained that the dam was receiving water more than what it usually receives due to the heavy rains.

In order to protect the dam, he said authorities needed to spill because if they didn’t, the dam would have given way. If the dam gives way, it would be more catastrophic, he said after touring communities affected by the flood caused by the Akosombo dam spillage and interacting with officials and engineers of the Volta River Authority (VRA) on Friday, October 13.

He further stated that this is not the first time the VRA is spilling water from the Akosmsobo Dam however this is a bit heavier the previous ones.

Communities including Mepe and Battor in the North Tingu Consitucy have been severely hit by the flood occasioned by the spillage.

The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) told journalists that “The main problem is from above the dam, it is receiving more inflows than it normally receives. When that happens you have to protect the dam because if you don’t spill then it is possible that the dam can give way and if it gives way it will be more catastrophic all the way down the Southern Volta.

“This is not the first time VRA is spilling at Akosombo but this seems to be a bit heavier than normal. But it is also good to dredge because if you dredge the extra volumes of water are able to move faster. For instance, you can see under the bridge that several parts are silted, if all those parts had been cleared it would be easier for the water to flow through so that it doesn’t back up to people’s houses.

“This happens once in a while, it doesn’t happen every year, it is just because of climate change because normally the rainfall in the north would have started subsiding but unfortunately, when I was in the north last week it was raining heavily and so it is unusual weather, it is part of what is happening with the whole chain of climate and so we just have to see how to adapt.”

“The three most affected constituencies are North, Central, and South Tongu. I think the number of people who have been displaced especially when we went to the hospital we saw that medical personnel have all been evacuated from their quarters and they are seeking shelter in a pavilion in the hospital.

“So they actually need support. Our understanding is that the water is not going to rise any further, from what we hear from the VRA engineer but it will take time to get better because it takes time for the water to recede for the place to become dry again,” he told journalists.

He further urged the Volta River Authority (VRA) to expedite the dispatch of the relief items it had promised to give to the victims of the flood.

He said “The people really need help but unfortunately, my understanding is that NADMO has nothing, happily, VRA said they are going to support them with some relief items. So I will thank VRA and appeal to them that the people are in need and so whatever relief they want to give them they should expedite it so that they can assist people with the current situation.”

Spillage of water from the Akosombo dam is expected to continue until the excess inflows in the lake recede, according to the Volta River Authority (VRA).

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the VRA, Mr Emmanuel Antwi-Darkwa said that the lake is currently experiencing inflows more than expected hence the spillage is going to continue.

“We are on phase II [of the spillage] right now and it is a cycle. It is normal at this time of the year for us to experience inflows. The difference is that we are getting more than expected and to safeguard this dam means that we have to spill water, that is the standard operation for any hydro dam but the inflows that we are seeing now are in excess.

“Definitely, as the cycle goes through this will recede so we are hoping it will recede in the next time,” he told journalists on Thursday, October 12.

“The spilling may continue even though we are anticipating that the levels may drop down to phase 1, which was started on September 15 but of course, we did not have much excess as we are seeing now, this is an emergency as we have seen from the beginning.

“Whether dredging or no dredging it is an emergency. The volume of water that is coming into the lake right now which we have to throw out, it means that we need to evacuate people from wherever they are to ensure they are safe until the inflows recede,” he added.

The VRA was accused of neglecting its responsibilities in the Lower Volta Basin hence the huge impact of flood caused by spillage from the Akosombo and Kpong Dams on communities.