Karamoja to harvest rain water
THE people of Karamoja will soon start accessing underground water. This follows the Government’s plan to trap rain water, which has hitherto been just running off.
By Olandason Wanyama
THE people of Karamoja will soon start accessing underground water. This follows the Government’s plan to trap rain water, which has hitherto been just running off.
The First Lady and Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs, Janet Museveni, said the Government was committed to ensuring that the people of Karamoja access water for human consumption and for their animals throughout the year.
She was inspecting dams that are being constructed by the Italian Cooperation and Development, a non-government organisation, in Napak district.
The firm was contracted by the Office of the Prime Minister to identify water points in Moroto and Napak districts and construct dams there.
Mrs. Museveni also visited a sub-surface dam on River Omaniman in Nyakyuka village in Lotome sub-county in Napak district. The dam consists of a two-metre embankment wall and a shallow well.
Federico Soranzo, the coordinator of the Italian Cooperation and Development, said the embankment wall would stop rain water from running off such that it can be retained in the sand. The shallow well, he added, would filter and drain water from the sand, which can then be pumped up in the dry season.
“Currently, little water can be retained in the sand since most of it runs off. In about two weeks, the shallow well will ease access to water,†he said.
Mrs. Museveni urged the firm to ensure that some water is retained in the dams for use during the rainy season instead of all of it being reserved in the sand for use in the dry season.
She also toured a rock catchment dam at Nakicheleet in Lokopo sub-county, which will trap water from the surrounding rocks and store it in a 40,000-litre tank, from where it will be pumped out.
THE people of Karamoja will soon start accessing underground water. This follows the Government’s plan to trap rain water, which has hitherto been just running off.
The First Lady and Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs, Janet Museveni, said the Government was committed to ensuring that the people of Karamoja access water for human consumption and for their animals throughout the year.
She was inspecting dams that are being constructed by the Italian Cooperation and Development, a non-government organisation, in Napak district.
The firm was contracted by the Office of the Prime Minister to identify water points in Moroto and Napak districts and construct dams there.
Mrs. Museveni also visited a sub-surface dam on River Omaniman in Nyakyuka village in Lotome sub-county in Napak district. The dam consists of a two-metre embankment wall and a shallow well.
Federico Soranzo, the coordinator of the Italian Cooperation and Development, said the embankment wall would stop rain water from running off such that it can be retained in the sand. The shallow well, he added, would filter and drain water from the sand, which can then be pumped up in the dry season.
“Currently, little water can be retained in the sand since most of it runs off. In about two weeks, the shallow well will ease access to water,†he said.
Mrs. Museveni urged the firm to ensure that some water is retained in the dams for use during the rainy season instead of all of it being reserved in the sand for use in the dry season.
She also toured a rock catchment dam at Nakicheleet in Lokopo sub-county, which will trap water from the surrounding rocks and store it in a 40,000-litre tank, from where it will be pumped out.