_____________

Officials from the water ministry say they have embarked on a programme of releasing 2,400 cubic metres of water from Lake Victoria per second to reduce the rising water levels.

Water resources management specialist Dr Callist Tindimugaya, who works with the ministry, made the revelations in a telephone interview last week.

He explained the exercise that kicked off on Thursday follows reports of rising Lake Victoria waters, which he said could damage dams, bridges and roads, if not controlled.

“Once they release that amount, then the level will go down. The reason for releasing the water is to create space for the more water coming in due to ongoing rains from Uganda and neighbouring countries. If we don’t do that, then we will reach a point where water is released in Kampala, destroys bridges, houses and in a short time, the whole of Kampala, will be flooding.

He, however, said while releasing the waters downstream, care is being taken to protect aquatic life like fish on lakes Edward and Kyoga.

Impact compounded by destroyed wetlands, forests

Tindimugaya added that this may not be a new occurrence, however the intensity of rains and threats have increased. In 1964, Uganda experienced a lot of rain, similar to what is being experienced today but because the wetlands, swamps, River banks, forests were intact, the impact wasn’t felt by the masses.

The same happened in 2020, when the water levels reached 13.50 cubic metres up from 13.41 cubic meters in 1964. The fear today is that water levels could overtake the current level of 13.50 cubic metres.

Tindimugaya explained further that the rise in water levels is mainly due to the clearance of wetlands and swamps for settlement, industrialisation among other commercial activities.

“The speed at which the water runs is so high that without controls like swamps and wetlands, it can easily increase water levels on water bodies. Unfortunately, most of the swamps around Lake Victoria have been degraded, explained Tindimugaya.

He added that Wetlands or swamps trap running water whenever there is much rain hence controlling the speed, and then release the water gradually into water bodies.

The natural process minimises the sudden rise in water volumes, he added. Tindimugaya made the explanation on Thursday in a telephone interview about the rising water levels on Lake Victoria.

He explained further that increased water levels on the Lake are determined by the rains falling directly on the lake and then water coming from rivers in neighboring countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.

From Rwanda and Burundi, Lake Victoria gets this water through R.Kagera. From Kenya, the waters come through Nzoia and Malaba rivers; And because those countries have also degraded the environment, more water tends to run to the lake especially now that the whole region is experiencing the same rains.