By SCOVIA ATUHAIRE
KABAROLE – One of the main sources of water in Rwenzori region could dry up as result of unregulated human activity. This is because constant pollution of the River Mpanga by locals is causing a fluctuation of water volumes, which in turn leads to unreliable or low water supply.
River Mpanga originates from the Rwenzori Mountains in Karangura Sub County, Kabarole district and snakes through Fort Portal town, Kyenjojo, Kamwenge and finally deposits its waters into Lake George.
During the dry season, the water levels at River Mpanga go down while, during the rainy season, the river bursts its banks, in the process ferrying heaps of garbage downstream.
That level of fluctuation of water levels destabilises the river bed and banks, thereby affecting the quality of water. For instance, the water recently turned to a dirt brownish colour due to the siltation happening upstream at the hilly Karangura (the source of the river).
HUMAN ACTIVITY
Human activity along the banks of River Mpanga is also threatening its flow patterns. In addition, indiscriminate disposal of plastic bottles continues to choke the river, despite several interventions by environmentalists and district authorities.
The National Environment regulations of 2000, which control the management of wetlands, lake shores and river banks, state that any human activity near a river should be undertaken at least one hundred metres away from the river bank.
At Kazingo in Kichwamba Sub County, where the river passes, the communities have cultivated food crops on the river banks, causing silting of the river. In Fort Portal town, washing bays have been established 20 metres from the river banks and oils from the vehicles pour into the water, which is consumed by some residents where it passes.
At Mpanga Market, the toilets that are being used by the traders have been constructed along the river banks and human excreta enter direct into the river, especially when it rains.
In other areas, locals engage in sand mining, stone quarrying and brick laying are carried out. Residents near the river also use water for their animals while others use it to irrigate their crops during the dry season.
In the villages of Kyabikonkoni, Mugoma, Rukogora, all of which are in West division of Fort Portal Town in Kabarole district, there are many gardens and animal farms that have been established on the river banks.
In Fort Portal Town alone, there are car washing bays established along the river banks and brick making at Ahakabale on Fort Portal-Kyejonjo road. In Karangura Hill in Kabarole District, there stone quarrying activities are on-going and stones are dumped in the river, causing further siltation.
RESIDENTS LAMENT
Mr John Bagonza from Rukogora village in West division said River Mpanga used to be covered by thick vegetation before its banks were encroached on by human activity.
“This river was ever full of water but now as you can see, the volumes have reduced because of human activity, which need intervention from concerned authorities,” he said.
Mr Tom Mbwoijana, an elder who has resided in Fort Portal town for decades, looks on in disbelief as he compares what he describes as River Mpanga’s past beauty and the ugliness of the present flow.
“In the olden days, River Mpanga had much water and it could give beauty to our town. Unfortunately, it is now a narrow stream where all its tributaries such as River Mugunu and Itara have now reduced their amount of water flow,” he explains.
Ms Adrine Kugonza, a resident of Kagote A in West division, says sometimes the water pumped from the river is contaminated, exposing the residents to the risk of contracting water borne diseases.
“The river is not protected from encroachment because as you can see, people bathe from one side of the river and others wash their clothes on the other, which is unhygienic,” she states.
EFFECTS OF POLLUTION
The river is a source of water for domestic consumption and for small factories. Most of the area residents receive their tap water, which is supplied by the National Water Sewerage Cooperation (NSWC), from the lake. Similarly, 18 megawatts of electricity are generated on the river through the Mpanga power station and fed to the national grid.
While the supply of water and electricity has considerably improved the living standards of the people living astride the river, the locals are doing what is akin to biting the hands that feed them by threatening the operations of both the NWSC and the power generation plant.
Officials from NSWC, which pumps water from the river to more than 9,000 residents in the municipality for domestic use, have complained that pollution greatly affects the quality of water from the river.
The NWSC area manager, Mr Denis Muramuzi, says it is now very expensive for them to filter the polluted water from River Mpanga because they use more chemicals than before.
“Between 2010 and 2016, the chemical consumption at NWSC Fort Portal plant increased by three times from 0.0120 units of water to 0.0375 units of water treated,” he explains. “And it is all due to the increasing pollution levels on the river, which serves as our source of raw water supplying Fort Portal town and Kabarole district.”
Mr Muramuzi adds that because of the degradation, during rainy seasons a lot of gravel flows through their pipes with the water, which forces them to close the pumping process for more than two hours. He adds that during shutdowns, many customers in distant places do not receive water.
According to Mr Muramuzi, NWSC has carried out several interventions to save the river, which include sensitization of residents and introduction of Save River Mpanga clubs in schools.
In April last year, during a River Mpanga catchment committee meeting in Fort Portal town, the manager of Mpanga hydro power plant, Mr Charles Mugisha, noted that the increased human activities on the river banks have led to its contamination. Mr Mugisha explained that because of human activity leading to reduced water volumes, the plant that is supposed to produce 18MW of power is now producing only 8MW.
The 18 megawatts power generated at the river was being consumed by more than 20,000 people in Kamwenge and neighbouring districts.
FUTILE RESOLUTIONS
For long, municipal leaders have devised measures of protecting the river from dumping but with no positive results.
In October 2016, the authorities banned the use of polythene bags in town as one way of protecting the river from garbage dumping but polythene bags are still in use to-date.
Around the same time, a wire mesh was erected at the Mpanga Bridge in Fort Portal Town to block plastic waste from sailing downstream. However, the wire mesh was stolen by scrap dealers.
In August 2017, the municipal council resolved to stop all activities near the river such as car washing, vending and brick laying but up to now, the same activities are still taking place on the river banks.
In August 2017, the Fort Portal Municipal Council resolved to stop all activities but up to now, nothing has changed.
Earlier in 2016, the same Council had launched a campaign dubbed, “Keep Fort Portal Town Clean” in a bid to secure a tourism city status. The campaign entailed mobilizing residents to pick up all sorts of tools available to them and clean up the town and cut all the bushes around the river on every first Monday of the month.
However, the campaign has yielded nothing because it only worked for few months. Today, there is as much garbage is everywhere in the town as it was before the start of the campaign.
According to the Coordinator of Natural Resources Defence Initiatives (NRDI), Mr Edgar Muganzi, they have developed a five-year working plan that involves replacing eucalyptus trees around the river with more appropriate trees such as Grevillia robusta.
“We are replacing eucalyptus trees with indigenous trees, as well as sensitizing communities to stop encroaching on the river banks to stabilise River Mpanga. This is because the river is becoming thinner and losing its water colour as a result of pollution,” he says.
The jury is still out on how this latest initiative will help reduce the degradation of the river. However, what is clear from what has happened in the past is that there is need for more robust enforcement of whatever resolution the local or central government authorities come up with.
