The Authority has explained that the Akosombo Dam was currently receiving over 200 percent more water in October this year than what was experienced in previous years.
Edward Ekow Obeng-Kenzo, Deputy Chief Executive of the VRA in charge of Engineering and Operations in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM said the dam’s current water level is at 277.26 feet, and its maximum operational level is 277.5 feet.
He stated that anything beyond the operational level of the dam would break it and lead to the entire wipeout of persons and structures along the bank of the Volta River.
Kenzo said "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.
"So we are left with only about 0.24 feet to get to that maximum operational level of the dam. So any level beyond this, we are putting the dam’s integrity at risk. 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."
The past few days have been devastating for several communities along the banks of the Volta River as farmlands, houses, and properties running into several thousands of Ghana cedis are destroyed by the raging floods.
The floods occasioned by the spillage of excess water in the Akosombo Dam have also claimed some human lives while several communities in more than seven districts in the Greater Accra, Eastern, and Volta regions have been affected.