National Dam Safety Unit
A National Dam Safety Unit (NDSU) is being established to develop a framework for the construction, maintenance and safety of dams in the country.
The unit will also come up with schedules for disaster and emergency operations and preparedness, which are currently in the hands of dam owners.
This came to light at a three-day workshop organised by the Water Resources Commission (WRC) at Agona Swedru to discuss and work out the technical details for the establishment of the unit.
Addressing the participants, the Deputy Minister of Water Resource Works and Housing, Alhaji Saani Iddi, said dam structures remained a key water resource development and organisational infrastructure that continued to serve the nation and drive the economy enormously .
He explained that the operations of Akosombo, Kpong and other dams throughout the country provided the nation with valuable hydropower, water supply, water for irrigation, fishing, recreation and flood control outlet.
He, however, asserted that improper design, construction and operation could undermine the importance of dams and lead to damage or destruction of lives, livestock, farms and other property.
The cost of rehabilitating these damaged property and providing relief to victims, he added, remained colossal.
He cited the recent flooding in the Upper East Region as a result of events in Ghana and Burkina Faso as regrettable repercussions of dam structures.
“We need to think and act beyond just putting dam structures for beneficial use,” he stated.
According to him, the WRC initiative would serve as a the centralised body to regulate and co-ordinate all relevant policies and programmes related to dam design, construction, maintenance and decommissioning with the view to ensuring uniform and adequate safety level for all dams nation-wide.
Alhaji Iddi emphasised that the establishment of the NDSU would help the government to address basic challenges in the National Water Policy.
He urged the participants to come up with innovative solutions to the problem to ensure that the project was successfully implemented to justify the support of the Norwegian Government.
The Acting Executive Secretary of the WRC said the three-year programme for the establishment of the NDSU included the development of a legal framework for dam safety, preparation of guidelines for dam structure safety standards, and establishment of a national database among others.
He indicated that the project would be carried out in stages through a series of workshops by a Dam Safety Working Group (DSWG) that consisted of experienced personnel drawn from major stakeholders, as well as external expertise when required.
Mr Ampomah added that the NDSU , when established, would be expected to be independent of dam owners.
The Ghana Water Company Limited( GWCL), the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority( GIDA) have stakes in 30 dams in the country with 1500 smaller dams across the country privately owned.
When the Daily Graphic interviewed the International Development Projector Director of the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), Mr Amir Messiha, he said the project would save the nation 20 years of experiences and mistakes other countries had gone through to establish the regulatory body for dams.
He indicated that the major challenge facing Ghana's quest for safe dams was lack of funds, a problem that the Norwegian Government was willing to address.
The need for the NSDU arose as a result of a feasibility report by Nord Consult, a Norwegian consultancy that specialises in dam-related issues, which was commissioned in 2007 by the GWCL as part of the Urban Water Project (UWP).
The Nord Consult recommended the establishment a NDSU and the Norwegian Government is supporting the project with 5 million Kroner with a Government of Ghana input of 530,000 Kroner.
The unit will also come up with schedules for disaster and emergency operations and preparedness, which are currently in the hands of dam owners.
This came to light at a three-day workshop organised by the Water Resources Commission (WRC) at Agona Swedru to discuss and work out the technical details for the establishment of the unit.
Addressing the participants, the Deputy Minister of Water Resource Works and Housing, Alhaji Saani Iddi, said dam structures remained a key water resource development and organisational infrastructure that continued to serve the nation and drive the economy enormously .
He explained that the operations of Akosombo, Kpong and other dams throughout the country provided the nation with valuable hydropower, water supply, water for irrigation, fishing, recreation and flood control outlet.
He, however, asserted that improper design, construction and operation could undermine the importance of dams and lead to damage or destruction of lives, livestock, farms and other property.
The cost of rehabilitating these damaged property and providing relief to victims, he added, remained colossal.
He cited the recent flooding in the Upper East Region as a result of events in Ghana and Burkina Faso as regrettable repercussions of dam structures.
“We need to think and act beyond just putting dam structures for beneficial use,” he stated.
According to him, the WRC initiative would serve as a the centralised body to regulate and co-ordinate all relevant policies and programmes related to dam design, construction, maintenance and decommissioning with the view to ensuring uniform and adequate safety level for all dams nation-wide.
Alhaji Iddi emphasised that the establishment of the NDSU would help the government to address basic challenges in the National Water Policy.
He urged the participants to come up with innovative solutions to the problem to ensure that the project was successfully implemented to justify the support of the Norwegian Government.
The Acting Executive Secretary of the WRC said the three-year programme for the establishment of the NDSU included the development of a legal framework for dam safety, preparation of guidelines for dam structure safety standards, and establishment of a national database among others.
He indicated that the project would be carried out in stages through a series of workshops by a Dam Safety Working Group (DSWG) that consisted of experienced personnel drawn from major stakeholders, as well as external expertise when required.
Mr Ampomah added that the NDSU , when established, would be expected to be independent of dam owners.
The Ghana Water Company Limited( GWCL), the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority( GIDA) have stakes in 30 dams in the country with 1500 smaller dams across the country privately owned.
When the Daily Graphic interviewed the International Development Projector Director of the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), Mr Amir Messiha, he said the project would save the nation 20 years of experiences and mistakes other countries had gone through to establish the regulatory body for dams.
He indicated that the major challenge facing Ghana's quest for safe dams was lack of funds, a problem that the Norwegian Government was willing to address.
The need for the NSDU arose as a result of a feasibility report by Nord Consult, a Norwegian consultancy that specialises in dam-related issues, which was commissioned in 2007 by the GWCL as part of the Urban Water Project (UWP).
The Nord Consult recommended the establishment a NDSU and the Norwegian Government is supporting the project with 5 million Kroner with a Government of Ghana input of 530,000 Kroner.
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