Uganda: Four Hydropower Plants At Risk Due To Rise In Water Levels At Lake Victoria

Uganda’s four hydropower dams are currently under a serious threat due to the rising water levels of Lake Victoria.

The East African country relies almost entirely on four hydroelectric power dams on the River Nile, which is fed by Lake Victoria.

Lake Victoria is a massive trans-boundary body of water shared by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda with about 23 rivers that bring water into the lake.

Uganda’s Water and Environment Minister, Sam Cheptoris, has said intense rains that started around August last year had raised the lake’s water levels to just under 13.4 metres, a mark last recorded in 1964.

In the early 60s (Around 1964) Lake Victoria’s water levels rose causing flooding around the Lakeshore.

“The increased water level is causing dislodgement of papyrus mats … resulting into huge mass of floating islands, which are dangerous to hydropower infrastructure,” Cheptoris said.

According to Cheptoris, the quick rise in water level has also been accelerated by human activities especially environmental degradation.

“Loss of forest cover, encroachment on wetlands, lakeshores and river banks including poor land use practices, have resulted in soil erosion leading to siltation of our water bodies. This has resulted in speedy movement of water into the lakes and rivers with a lot of silt, which has further reduced water storage capacities of our water bodies,” Cheptoris said in a statement.

On 14 April, Uganda lost power countrywide after papyrus islands carried by surging waters clogged the intake gates at two of the hydropower dams in Jinja in the east of the country.

“This cost government a lot of money to remove,” Cheptoris said, without giving figures.

Sections of waterfront properties such as luxury hotels, including one belonging to a unit of Nairobi-listed Tourism Promotion Services and a Protea Hotel, part of Marriott International, have become submerged in the last few weeks.

Source:www.energynewsafrica.com