Ivan Tekakwo, the Northern Regional NWSC Spokesperson said on Thursday that they made the decision to halt the production of water at the dam to prevent further damage to the corporation’s pumps.
Oyitino dam water levels in Gulu city have reduced from approximately seven meters to less than a meter due to the extreme high temperatures being experienced in the Acholi subregion.
The National Water and Sewerage
Corporation (NWSC) has halted the production of water from Oyitino Dam, one of Gulu
City’s primary water sources due to a significant decline in the water levels.
Water levels at the dam where
NWSC produces some 9 million litres of water daily to supply city residents had
by the beginning of this week reduced to barely a meter down from seven meters
when at full capacity.
The reduction in water levels fueled
by the extreme heat being experienced in the sub-region saw an irregular supply
of water to clients within Gulu city in past weeks with NWSC at some moments forced to
ration.
Ivan Tekakwo, the Northern Regional NWSC Spokesperson said on Thursday that they decided to
halt the production of water at the dam to prevent further damage to the corporation’s
pumps.
Tekakwo told Uganda Radio Network
during a visit to the dam that water production at Oyitino dam will only resume when
the dam is filled up with rainwater.
//Cue in: “As we can…
Cue out:…to our pumps.”//
Tekakwo explained that NWSC has
since temporarily switched to the multi-billion Karuma water project to supply
water to Gulu city residents.
He noted that water from Karuma
is meant to back up Oyitino Dam which has been experiencing water level
reduction since 2016 due to climate change effects.
An additional 10 million litres of
water is already being pumped to Gulu city residents in the absence of Oyitino
dam operations according to Tekakwo.
//Cue in: “So at the…
Cue out:…10 million liters.”//
The multi-billion Karuma water
project was initiated in 2022 and is jointly funded by the Ugandan government,
KfW, and a loan from the World Bank. Through the project, a water treatment
plant has been established in Nora village in Oyam district while water reservoirs
have been constructed in the peri-urban centres of Kamdini, Minakulu, Koro Abili,
Bobi and Palenga. Water from Karuma is being evacuated through a 69.5-kilometre water pipeline to Gulu city.
According to Tekakwo, the project
which is in three phases is expected to boost the daily supply of water up to
30 million liters by 2040.
He however noted that while they
have temporarily switched to water from Karuma, not all parts of the city are
yet receiving water adding that technicians were already in the process of
ensuring every client is connected to the reservoir.
“Though some places will be
facing intermittent supply due to the current situation, we will ensure that
everyone gets some water as we wait for the rains to come back and the
situation normalizes,” he said.
Over 13,000 residents within Gulu
city are currently connected to the NWSC tap water, with the production of water
still staggering between 9 million to 10 million litres of water per day
despite growing demand.
Gulu city and neighbouring Gulu
district this year experienced the most extreme heat, with temperature rising to 37 degrees Celsius on March 6, one of the highest recorded in recent
years.
Environmental experts and local
leaders attribute the ever-growing destruction of natural forests and wetland
encroachment to the persistent reduction of water levels at Oyitino Dam.
In March 2016, Gulu city residents experienced severe water shortage after Oyitino dam waters dried completely due to harsh weather conditions at the time.
