Africa-Press – Botswana. The Chinese embassy has extended a helping hand to Gaborone City Council towards desilting Segoditshane River.
The project, which started Tuesday and expected to end March 14, includes removal of fine sand and other materials carried by running water and deposited in the river thus hindering free movement of rainwater.
Briefing the media at the launch, Gaborone mayor, Mr Austin Abraham said the embassy’s assistance came as a result of the recent floods which led to the temporary closure of Segoditshane, Wellie Seboni and Nelson Mandela roads.
He said the embassy had offered to mobilise a couple of local Chinese construction companies to assist with the project.
Meanwhile, Department of Town and Country Planning acting director Mr Kebonyemodisa Ooke has identified low lying bridges/culverts and storm water drainage channels that failed to deposit runoff into the river channel as some of the contributory factors to flooding.
Speaking in an interview, he said a comprehensive and long lasting solution was being worked on which included having water retention ponds along the river as additional storage capacity during heavy rains.
He said a comprehensive network to ensure that the existing storm water drainage outlets ultimately deposited water into the dredged river channel would also be developed.
That involved continuous maintenance of the drainage system and adjusting its carrying capacity to meet demand during heavy rains, explained Mr Ooke.
He said mechanisms must also be put in place to control water movement in and out of the retention ponds in response to heavy rains and reducing surface runoff velocity.
Mr Ooke emphasised the importance of treating storm water before reaching the river channel.
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