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The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has asked the public to assist in its operation as it starts the implementation of the government’s policy of absorbing water bills, by stopping indiscriminate watering of lawns with treated water.

The Company said it had started the implementation of the policy announced by the President on April 3, this year, as a part of measures to help curb the COVID-19 pandemic and it was important for all and sundry to strictly observe outlined water conservation measures.

A statement from the Company and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Thursday said the GWCL had started the implementation of the government’s policy, hence, Ghanaians would not be paying water bills for April, May, and June.

The statement urged all to moderate the use of treated water for car washing by the use of buckets instead of water hosing, shut all taps when not in use, repair all leakages in homes - like overflowing reservoirs and dripping taps, and valves among others.

It said citizens should endeavour to report all burst pipes and leakages immediately to the nearest GWCL district offices, Customer Service centres, Fault Offices, adding that there was the need to report all persons engaged in illegal connections, by-pass, and all malpractices against the company to the nearest Police station or the Company’s district offices.

“The public can also call or whatsApp GWCL on these numbers; 0555123393, 0555155524, 0207385088, 0207385089, 0207385090. You can include google locations, pictures, and videos of the burst,” it said and said the toll-free line for its customer call center is 0800 40 000 for Vodafone cell and landlines only and 0302 218240 for all other networks.

On the modalities for the implementation of the policy, the statement said all customers of the GWCL on category 611 (domestic users) shall benefit from the offer.

It added that all stand-pipes shall be used to serve citizens for free and the government shall absorb the bill and pay commission/compensation to the vendors, adding that all vendors are expected to still control the services to the public, but for free to ensure the prudent use of water.

The statement said “Landlords and landladies who sell water to tenants must allow tenants to use the water for free from April, May, and June, and that Landlords and Landladies who sell water to other members of the community must register with the district offices of the GWCL to be eligible for commission/compensation.

It said all customers disconnected before the President’s announcement, were still liable and must pay their arrears to enable them to benefit from the policy.

The statement, however, added that if a customer is not in a position to pay arrears in full, such customers could negotiate with the District Offices and or Regional Offices, to be reconnected, saying that these cases would be treated on individual bases.

It said tanker services had been arranged to serve deprived communities but added that consumers in such communities must liaise with their Assembly members, who will request for the services of these tankers from GWCL district offices.

The numbers for all district offices of the GWCL, the statement said would be published in the media.

It said Management of GWCL was working assiduously to enable citizens to have an adequate supply of water especially for domestic use and to help all citizens observe the necessary protocols outlined by the President.