Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Mozambican Minister of Public Works, Carlos Mesquita, on Monday visited the Pequenos Libombos dam on the Umbeluzi river, about 40 kilometres west of Maputo, to assess the impact of the torrential rains that fell on Maputo city and province on Sunday and Monday.
Cited in Wednesday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Carta de Mocambique”, Mesquita stressed that the government is closely monitoring the level of the dams, and particularly the Pequenos Libombos, which is a major source of drinking water for the Greater Maputo Metropolitan Region.
He said that the Pequenos Libombos reservoir has been receiving large flows of water from upstream, particularly from Eswatini.
Earlier in the month, Maputo was struck by tropical storm Filipo. The upshot of these flows is that the Pequenos Libombos reservoir, which was dangerously low two years ago, is now virtually full.
“The level of the dam is practically at 100 per cent, and we had to increase the level of discharges. It was 50 cubic meters per second at first, and now the dam is discharging around 200 cubic meters per second”, the Minister said.
He pointed out that a year ago, the dam had been discharging much more water, around 2,800 cubic metres a second. Now it was only discharging about eight per cent of that figure.
Asked about the damage that these discharges could do to productive agricultural areas, Mesquita said that only crops planted in the immediate vicinity of the dam were in any danger.
Mesquita stressed the uncertainty caused by the “El Nino” weather phenomenon, often associated with flooding in southern Mozambique, and warned of the possibility of unpleasant surprises.
On the other hand, the high level of the Pequenos Libombos reservoir means that there is no longer any risk of Maputo running out of water. Mesquita said that, even if there is no further rain, the reserves of water behind the dam are enough to supply the capital for two years.
He warned members of the public to take great care when crossing the swollen rivers, particularly the Umbeluzi and Maputo rivers. People living near the river banks should move to higher ground and equipment (such as pumps) should be removed, so that it is not swept away by any sudden rise in river levels.
The threats posed by rising rivers could be managed if citizens followed the instructions given by the authorities, said the Minister.
“Despite the increases in the discharges from the dam, water management has been successful”, added Mesquita.
Inside Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola, the flood waters are beginning to recede, but many roads in the two cities remain impassable. The port and rail company, CFM, however, says that it has now reopened the entire southern regional rail system to traffic.
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