Gerald Tenywa
3 December 2006
Kampala — THE water level of Lake Victoria has risen by four centimetres due to the heavy rains of the past month in the three countries sharing Africa's largest lake.
A water expert in the Ministry of Water and Environment told The New Vision the heavy rains benefited the water levels, while causing problems in areas prone to floods, cholera and landslides.
"The lake has increased by about four centimeters," said Fred Kyosingira, a senior water expert, monitoring the water levels. "However, this is still too low to talk about a real recovery of the lake. It will not significantly improve the shoreline, which has been receding for the last three years."
He blamed excessive release of water for hydro-electric power generation and climate changes for the drop in the water levels of Lake Victoria.
Kyosingira said most of the water feeding the lake comes from rainfall, which is lost through evaporation at almost the same rate. He predicted the gains of the current rainy season would disappear at the on-set of the dry season.
Experts in the Meteorology department warned of landslides in mountainous areas like Kasese and Bundibugyo in Western Uganda as a result of prolonged heavy rains. In Kampala, suburbs like Bwaise and Kalerwe are most likely to be hit by floods.
"Parts of the country with poor sanitation are at risk of experiencing a cholera outbreak," said Stephen Magezi, the Commissioner in-charge of the Meteorology department.
The Prime Minister's Office is making arrangements to deal with any possible disasters as a result of the heavy rains.
The lake water level receded by about two meters in the last two years, negatively influencing the power generation, which culminated into load shedding countrywide.
A recent regional meeting in Arusha concluded that the water levels of the lakes in 54 African countries were declining as a result of climate change.
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