The heavy rains that hit Mbarara City in Uganda for more than 15 hours on Tuesday forced River Rwizi to burst its banks, leading to the destruction of gardens, three bridges along the river, and the main water pipeline supplying water to Nyamitanga and Ruti areas and other neighboring villages.
The water pump house situated in Ruharo was also been submerged, leading to a shortage of water in the area. The affected water plant pumps about twelve million liters of water, which covers 120,000 people in and around Mbarara City.
The National Water and Sewerage Cooperation manager in the area, Denis Muramuzi, says that the heavy rains have caused floods to submerge the system in the water pump house, leading to the use of a water pump generator to pump the floods out on an hourly basis.
The situation is reportedly costing the entity 100 million Shillings, with 70 million Shillings being revenue raised on a daily basis and 30 million Shillings being used to rectify the situation. Residents living along River Rwizi are worried as this is the second time the river is flooding in five years.
The heavy rains have also led to the flooding of other areas, including Bwizibwera and Mabira Dam in Kashari. Mbarara district Environment officer, Joseph Mwesigye, blames the destruction of gardens and water installations on the destruction of wetlands that sit along the river.
Apollo Kakonge, the director of the Western Ankole Civil Society Forum, notes that for the last five years, River Rwizi has lost 70 percent of its water catchment due to degradation by human encroachment and poor agricultural practices.
River Rwizi is the biggest river in the Ankole sub-region, serving 14 districts of the Greater Ankole area, and has a catchment of 8,700 square kilometers. The river flows through several districts before it moves down to pour its waters into Lake Victoria.