Africa-Press – Uganda. Hundreds of households in Patongo Town Council and Patongo Sub-county in Agago District have embarked on the excavation of trenches and waterways as a control measure against floods.
Water levels in main rivers such as Agago and Lukole have sharply risen in the past month as heavy rain continues to pound the area.
For decades, rural communities in Agago District have been losing their valuables such as houses, livestock and food crops in gardens to floods from the rivers. The flat landscape also favours floods.
In Toroma East Village, Lakwa Parish in Patongo Sub-county, 256 households have dug trenches and cleared waterways in preparation for the floods.
Mr Binancio Okwali, the chairperson of the parish development committee, said they have prepared early enough following their worst experience last year.
“All the seven villages in Lakwa Parish have been suffering from the effects of floods and waterlogging during the rainy season. Last year was the worst; we lost so many animals and crops while several buildings collapsed and this time, we do not want to take chances,” Mr Okwali said during an interview last week.
“During the rainy season, floods destroy our huts, leaving many of us homeless while most gardens also get flooded and livestock die. But this time the government trained us on how to handle or control floods by ourselves,” he added.
Mr Bosco Okello, a resident, said last year, he lost all his crops after the floods submerged his gardens, but he is optimistic that the puzzle could be solved this time.
“I lost every crop in my gardens and my three huts were destroyed, forcing me to shift elsewhere but when a team of experts from the Ministry of Water and Environment started training us three months ago, we now know how to handle the problem,” he said. “We were taught how to control floods and we have dug big and medium trenches, and waterways around the village so that running water goes straight to the rivers without stagnating within the homesteads,” Mr Okello added.
Three months ago, the Ministry of Water and Environment through the Directorate of Water Resources Management started implementing the Enhancing Resilience of Communities to Climate Change through Catchment-based Integrated Management of Water and Related Resources (EURECCCA) project in the district.
Implemented in the water catchment areas of Aswa, Awoja and Maziba, residents within these areas are being equipped with knowledge on managing the floods once the rivers in the area burst their banks.
This is all done with close supervision by technocrats from the Ministry of Water and Environment, according to Mr Simon Odoc, the agricultural officer for Patongo Sub-county.
Mr Churchill Olal, the district natural resources officer, said the programme will be integrated into the district development plan.
Mr Robert Bogere, a hydrologist at the Water and Environment ministry, said the project is the first of its kind in the country. “River Aswa catchment was identified for developing flood mitigation and water harvesting interventions to increase catchment resilience and boost water use for production while conserving the environment,” Mr Bogere said.
Background
EURECCA is a five-year project (2017 – 2022) being implemented in the six micro-catchments of Obalanga in Aswa-1, Olupe and Abu in Agago, Loyoro in Karenga District, Owil-Lutokorai in Orom and Kapeta-Kanamugeot in Kotido District, among others.
The project is aimed at increasing the resilience of communities to floods and landslides through promoting sustainable management of water and related resources.
