How to eradicate flooding on Kampala roads and reduce potholes to zero

OPINION

Whenever it rains in Kampala, there are well known spots that will flood and after a short while, most if not all of them develop potholes.

There is need for Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to create a position for a Hydrodynamics Engineer who would be able to get out during downpours to model the rain water flow and devise means to ensure that it never gets to flow on top of any road surface.

Roads are meant to handle only that amount of rain water due to the raindrops that fall directly on the road surface which helped by the camber slope flow on the edges of the road for short distances and later join the drainage channels and later flow to main channels like Nakivubo Channel and by gravity eventually drain to the lake via lake shore wetland systems that filter the water before it gradually join Lake Victoria.

Currently whenever it rains, potholes form shortly after and get repaired by KCCA workers without any effort to find out why they are re-occurring on such particular spots.

With a Hydrodynamics Engineer, whose job would be modeling the rain water flow in relation to the road surface, this would be solved in a single season for the already existing roads and integrated in the design of the new roads.

There is also the dilemma of water that flows into the main roads from the feeder roads that pile up stones, all sorts of rubbish and mud across the road surface on these sections that end up resulting into potholes where as the water without stones and mud ends up consistently peeling gravel off the road surface equally resulting into seasonal potholes. 

The inflow of rainwater from feeder roads to the main roads can be reduced by placing a bracket hump shortly after the branch off as well as giving that small branch off a sufficient camber slope that would guide the rainwater to the drainage channel on either side of the branch off without flowing across the surface of the main road.

There other method that KCCA can use, is by encouraging City residents to install rain water harvesting systems (Rain Water Tanks) that would reduce significantly on the runoff water that spoils the road surfaces.

The key spots in and around Kampala that have perennial potholes due to runoff rain water are; Bugolobi Shell T-Junction, Jinja Road Traffic Lights, Kubbiri in front of HASS petrol station due to runoff water from Makerere and Mulago hills, Babiha road along Acacia due to run off water from Kololo hill to mention but a few.

Without guiding the rainwater, potholes resulting from flooding on Kampala roads will continue to drain KCCA budget in form of continuous repair of re-occurring potholes.

The water which used to flow over the road on Kinawataka road near the junction to spear is no more after a wider culvert was installed and the potholes have reduced too.

The more puzzling scenario though is when it rains and water floods on roads situated on sloppy places for example Kinawataka road near Ministry of Works and Zone 7 where it feels as though one is driving in a shallow river.

My suggestion is that whenever it rains or shortly after rain, a KCCA road infrastructure engineer should drive around several Kampala streets which have a high prevalence of potholes and model the water so that a comprehensive drainage system can be implemented to save on resources, as the Authority looks for a Hydrodynamics Engineer.

It is unbelievable that sometimes one may be tempted to think that Kampala is below sea level when actually Kampala is made up of seven hills. The seven hills are the source of problems though as run off water from roof tops of buildings on the hills go downhill accompanied with debris and mud/soil.

The residents on these hills can be encouraged to install water harvesting systems (water tanks) but also KCCA can construct coordinated drainage systems uphill that would later conveniently join the drainage channels along the main road with reduced pressure.

Until drainage systems are deliberately coordinated, Kampala roads will always have a pothole epidemic whenever we get out of a rainy season.

This link is for a video showing parts mentioned above < https://youtu.be/Wi9Jb5qSaRc >

For God and My Country

Benon Fred TWINAMASIKO, Founder MD and CEO, HOPE Consults (U) Ltd.