Akosombo Dam spillage: VRA must provide more updates!

Last year, Ghana suffered a monumental man-made disaster when the VRA opened the spillways of the Akosombo Dam to quickly discharge excess water to save the dam from potential catastrophic collapse. 

The United Nations (UN) in Ghana estimates some 35,857 people, including children, were displaced. (https://ghana.un.org/en/251888/).

Major economic development downstream of the Akosombo/Kpong dams was destroyed, with the destruction in billions of cedis in investments.

The Golden Exotic Limited (GEL), a major exporter of fresh bananas to Europe, reported a loss of over Euro1.8 million in damage to crops, irrigation infrastructure, etc. (https://ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/ business/We-lost-over-1-8-million-from-Akosombo). 

Year after

Nearly a year after the September 2023 spill, Ghana, and particularly, people downstream of the dams are yet to fully recover from the damage and loss of property suffered.

This year, the VRA in a July 5, 2024 statement signed by the Deputy Chief Executive (Services), announced preparation for a precautionary and controlled spillage of excess water from the Akosombo Dam, including notifying stakeholders within the lower Volta River areas. 

The VRA has been at pains to explain that they are executing an enhanced community engagement programme and that any spilling would be different from the 2023 disastrous events.

VRA gave the added assurance that this time they planned to keep the discharge of water through the spillway gates under 50,000 cubic feet per second, which, from their Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP), would contain the spilt flows within the Volta River channels; (https://www.myjoyonline.com/vra-prepares-for-potential-akosombo-dam-spill-with-enhanced-community-engagements/).

This warning by the VRA has caused great alarm to the people of Mepe and other communities, who suffered the brunt of last year’s disaster. Togbe Komla Sakpiti V, the Dufia of Bakpa Avadiokome, said he nearly cried at the news of potential controlled spillage again this year, (https://www.myjoyonline.com/akosombo-dam-spillage-i-nearly-cried-after-hearing-about-the-planned-spillage-chief-of-avadiokome/). 

Implication

A number of implications can be drawn from the VRA statement. For example, if the VRA is to spill the same volume of water as it did last year, then this would mean VRA would have to open the spillways at an earlier date and a lower Volta Lake level and continue to spill for a longer period in much smaller volumes to pass the same total volume at the end of the day!

So does VRA have from its simulations information on the above? With Ghanaians in a state of fear should providing more regular updates on the potential to spill water from the Akosombo Dam to the communities downstream of the Akosombo/Kpong dams not help assuage our fears?

Meanwhile, using data published by Daily Graphic since May 30, 2024, this year’s lake water level trend is showing a significant deviation from that of the disastrous 2023.

The figure provided shows this deviation. Clearly, an entirely different scenario is developing this year. 

Figure 1: 2023 and 2024 Volta Lake Water Levels (source writer)

Also, from VRA’s historic records on the Volta Lake water levels, apart from the early years of 1966 to 1974 when the spillways were opened nearly every year — some of the early yearly openings were apparently carried out as test runs on the newly installed giant spillway gates — the spillways had since 1974 been opened on average once every 16 years in 1991, 2010 and 2023.

Of course, with science and technology still unable to predict the exact quantity of rain to expect well into the future and with Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) again forecasting “normal to above normal” total rainfall, similar to last year’s forecast, (https://www.meteo.gov.gh/gmet/seasonal-forecasts/), it appears VRA is keen to keep a very cautious posture.

But should we continue to keep a large number of Ghanaians living in fear?

While we applaud the VRA for its enhanced and proactive approach to this contentious matter of the Akosombo Dam spillage this year, could VRA adopt a more reassuring posture with more frequent updates of inflows after all it is all about the quality of life of the living.

The writer is a Civil & Irrigation Engineer.
E-mail: robert.k.b.austin@gmail.com