Panic as Lake Victoria Water Levels Rise Again
Water levels have reportedly risen again at some landing sites on the Lake Victoria shoreline, causing panic among Ugandan fishers.The affected areas include Lambu, Kachanga, Namirembe, and Kaziru in Masaka District and Kasensero Landing Site in Uganda's Kyotera District. The water level at Lambu Landing Site has risen by close to 50 metres and there are fears that they may go up as the March-May seasonal rain starts, according to Rose Nakyejjwe, the Masaka District environment officer. In 2020, when the water levels rose, Lambu residents were relocated to what is now known as Covid City, an open space located three kilometres on Bukakkata -Nyendo Road. Lake Victoria is largest lake in Africa and chief reservoir of the Nile, lying mainly in Tanzania and Uganda but bordering on Kenya. Since the 1900s, Lake Victoria ferries have been an important means of transport between the three countries. The lake has more than 200 species of fish, of which the Tilapia is the most economically important.
InFocus
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The East African Community Council of Ministers says Uganda has refused to execute a new policy governing the release of water from Nalubaale dam, the main outlet of the world's largest freshwater lake that has led to flooding that could claim more lives and has already caused destruction.
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The water volume in Africa's largest fresh-water lake has risen to its highest level exceeding 1965's historic mark, according to an assessment conducted by the Lake Victoria Basin Commission. The adverse effects of the lake's backflow have displaced hundreds of residents upstream and rendered dozens homeless.
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For more than four decades, environmentalists have been worried that water levels on the lake would decrease due to the construction of many hydropower dams such as Isimba on the River Nile downstream. However, the reverse has happened, with torrential rains increasing the water levels and submerging many settlements and commercial settings along the shores which have had to adapt or relocate, writes Irene Abalo Otto for Daily Monitor.
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Uganda is reportedly working with Kenya and Tanzanian authorities on how to sustainably manage Lake Victoria, which has been described as endangered. The lake which is shared by three East African countries - Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania - also serves millions of people upstream, all the way to Egypt. In some of its worst parts, the lake emits plastics and other non-biodegradable waste back on to the nearby banks, writes Paul Wafula for The Nation.
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A flooded neighbourhood at Lambu Landing Site in Masaka District (file photo).
