The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, (PURC) on June 8, 2023, commissioned its water laboratory to ensure water quality and assurance to consumers.
The Executive Secretary of the PURC, Dr. Ishmael Ackah, in a welcome address indicated that the establishment of PURC's water laboratory would help the Commission to test for water quality and provide assurance to consumers and stakeholders on quality-of-service delivery. It is also to satisfy an administrative process of monitoring water quality at the consumer’s end to protect consumers against poor service quality by the service provider.
According to Dr. Ackah, the PURC water laboratory would save time in water testing, which hitherto would have been outsourced to other laboratories which took time and days thereby delaying resolutions to water complaints, which were lodged with the PURC.
Dr. Ackah said the laboratory would also help the Commission to identify various challenges associated with water such as bacteriology, lead, and other harmful substances while providing lasting solutions. This, he said, would complement and strengthen relations between PURC and the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, (MSWR) in developing technical guidelines to provide safe water for consumers.
The Director for Water Services and Performance Monitoring at the PURC, Ing. Emmanuel Wayo Fiati, reiterated the point earlier made by the Executive Secretary, that, the PURC Water Laboratory will speed up the resolution of consumer complaints, which are lodged with the Commission nationwide, while guaranteeing the quality of water to consumers.
Ing. Fiati, further stated that the state-of-the-art water laboratory has the capacity to test and analyze over 250 parameters and could identify any harmful substances in any water sample.
Mr. Sampson Anang of Clean Earth Scientific, the supplier of the water testing equipment, appealed to the Commission to protect and maintain the Equipment due to its sensitive and expensive nature, so it could serve the purpose for which it was procured. Mr. Anang expressed joy for partaking in the commissioning of the Water Laboratory and took management through the various processes and functions of the water testing equipment. He further emphasized the need for refresher training for the staff of the Commission who would be operating the water Laboratory.
The program was attended by Directors, Principals, and Senior Managers, Heads of Departments as well as staff of the Commission and the Media.