The issue of non-revenue water in the annals of GWCL is described by many as a cancer on the revenue performance of the company.
As at the year 2009, 66 percent of all customers of the GWCL within the Tamale Metropolis were unmetered and this among other factors, cost the company huge loss of revenue. For instance in that year, the company lost a whopping GH¢1,696,508.18 through illegal connections and reconnections, metre bypass, non-payment of bills and the tempering of transmission lines by some residents and road contractors leading to loss of water.
Officials say about 50 percent of the 10 million gallons of water produced daily for residents is regularly lost to such negative activities.
Also, most of the sachet water producers operating within the Tamale Metropolis using dubious means to tap water, resulting in the loss of revenue to the company.
Besides, some of the car washing-bay operators are also noted for engaging in illegal connections throughout the city. All these nefarious activities coupled with the non-payment of bills by a large number of customers who are not on metres were impeding the operations of the company in the city and region as a whole.
However, officials of the GWCL since last year had begun what could best be described as a major step towards addressing the issues that had beset the company.
According to the Communications Officer of GWCL in charge of Northern Region Nicholas Nii-Abbey, the company has installed about 3600 domestic metres so as to help quantify the amount of water used by consumers in Tamale and its environs.
He told blogger in an interview that there is currently an ongoing Subsequent Year Investment Program (SYIP) which is aimed at enhancing the water distribution network, thereby replacing all the weak pipelines and extending the distribution network to other surrounding communities.
Nii-Abbey also explained that as part of this exercise some of the sizes of the pipelines would be increased so as to be able to carry more volumes of water in meeting the growing demand of the population.
One of the things he also mentioned the company was doing to check non-revenue water consumption was by putting in place zonal metres which were able to quantify the amount of water that go into each district. Adding “These zonal metres are able to help the company determine the consumption rate and demand for water in each district and this go a long way to help the company to know about its physical and commercial losses”.
Meanwhile as at July 2011, consumers in the Tamale Metropolis alone owed the GWCL an estimated GH¢2.5 million which according to the Communication Officer, was an indication that consumers had used the water for free for about 8 months.
Also, since January 2011 till date about 40 consumers have been prosecuted by the company and they were asked by the court to pay everything they owed, he told the paper.
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