Ketu North MP Eric Agbana Raises Alarm Over Weta Dam Gates, Warns of Flood Risk to 22 Communities
Member of Parliament for Ketu North, Hon. Eric Edem Agbana, has warned that malfunctioning control gates at the Weta Irrigation Dam pose a flood risk to 22 communities in the constituency.
The dam currently provides irrigation for over 1,200 rice farmers, most of whom are in Ketu North.
Speaking after a visit to the facility, Hon. Agbana said the dam relies on two gates to regulate water flow into the canals. The first gate broke down months ago and had to be removed with difficulty using heavy equipment. The second gate is now malfunctioning.
“If we don’t address this and the second gate fails completely, there will be no control over the outflow of water,” he said. “About 22 communities along the Weta Irrigation Dam facility risk being flooded.”
Hon. Agbana said the reservoir holds an estimated 31 million cubic metres of water and that residents are living in fear of a possible overflow.
“We just came to inspect the facility. We will continue engaging the government, especially the Ministry of Agriculture. We hope the World Bank facility that the government secured some time ago will expedite work on rehabilitating the dam,” he said.
He added that the situation is already affecting livelihoods in Ketu North, particularly rice farmers who depend on the dam for irrigation.
Credit to 24hournews
