KAMPALA FLOODS - Any solutions?? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: ADULE <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: ugnet_: KAMPALA FLOODS - Any solutions?? Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lately, the hot environmental topics in Uganda and particularly Kampala have centered on flooding and the Nakivubo Channel. Mayor Sebanna Kizito in his December 9th 1999 address to members of NGOs blamed the government for the flooding problem citing its policy of gazzeting lowland areas to industrial developments. In reply, Y. Nkulabo in his 16th December posting on Ugandanet wondered how such a governmental policy would cause the famous Kampala flooding during the rainy seasons. Mwami Nkulabo advocates for a program that will see the swamps in and around Kampala drained with added drainage systems. Kampala\'s valleys were homes to swamps and rivers like Nakivubo, Kitante, Lubigi, and Nalukulongo but to name a few. This changed soon after Dr.Cook discovered in 1903 that mosquitoes spread Malaria. He advocated for the drainage of swamps and rivers all over British\'s colonial territories. Hence, Kampala\'s once open slow flowing rivers (streams) like Kitante, Lugogo, Mulago, Nakivubo, and Nsambya vanished giving way to covered large pipes and open-air drainage channels. Nakivubo was the largest project with all the other channels draining into it enroute to Lake Victoria. This policy at that time seemed to solve Kampala\'s mosquito and drainage problems. On the other hand, Kampala City\'s urbanization program continued to expand as more concrete, stone, brick and asphalt of pavement and buildings capped its surface with a waterproof seal. This urban growth increment meant stormwater runoffs increased in magnitude and destructiveness (urbanization can increase the mean annual stormwater runoff by as much as six times). Unable to penetrate the ground, the rain that falls on unstable construction sites, roofs, streets and parking lots runs off the surface in greater quantities, more rapidly than the same amount of rain falling on the spongy surface of a natural field. The rapid stormwater runoff flows into narrower, shallower floodplains, constricted by buildings and clogged with sediment causing considerable amount of flooding especially around Lugogo, Nsambya, and Mulago. It should be noted that storm sewers transport water from one point to another; they do not reduce or eliminate water, they merely change its location. Traditional storm drainage practice protects local streets, buildings and parking lots from flooding, while contributing to major flood damage downstream. [Please note that for an urban storm drainage system to drain water efficiently from roofs, streets, and sidewalks, the flood control system must be continually augmented to prevent flooding in low lands of Lugogo, Nsambya, and Mulago.] Other effects of storm drainage systems apart from flood hazards are increased water pollution and use. Typically, the storm drainage system aggravates pollution by delivering slugs of sewage and runoff after storms into Lake Victoria. Kampala draws it\'s water from Lake Victoria and must contend with increased contamination. Since the ground, sealed by pavement and drained by pipes, absorbs little water, the amount of water stored in the ground, from which plants obtain their supply, is reduced. This lowered groundwater is insufficient to sustain plants during dry spells. No wonder, urban plants haven\'t been successful in Kampala streets. Kampala can adopt a number of innovative approaches to its flood/stormwater runoff problem by: - Redesigning the straight concrete-lined Nakivubo open-water channel into a waterway with irregularly shaped edges and a gently sloped vegetated bank. This is an opportunity to transform a rubble-strewn, filthy, open channel lined by garbage and derelict land, into a landscaped park lined with pedestrian and bikeways. - Setting up bioswales. (Bioswales are created to capture runoff and hold it until it permeates into the soil or evaporates into the air. The bioswale is also seen as a creative means of controlling runoff, as it has the potential to mitigate wetland loss, preserve open space, and improve the aesthetics of Kampala. As such, the bioswale has hydrologic, chemical and biological functions). - Designing the rooftops, parking lots, open spaces to store stormwater so that it\'s gradually released into the ground. - Preserving open spaces in the headwater areas for natural storage capacity, thereby reducing flooding and the cost of storm drainage systems. - Identifying and designating undeveloped urban wetlands as parkland to soak up and hold water in soil and plants - Exploiting the aesthetic properties of water without wasting it Floodwater storage and recreation are compatible in large open spaces (urban parks) unfortunately, Kampala has none though there are a number of potential sites. Its\' about time Kampala created urban open spaces that serve multiple purposes of flood control, water quality improvement and recreational. These are not new ideas at all but rather the rediscovery of old solutions. Many Urban Parks in North America were originally designed as flood control and water quality projects. A clear example is Boston\'s Emerald Necklace designed as a flood control and water quality project and not primarily for recreation. As Kampala City Council (KCC) endeavors to grant a contract to a firm for the Nakivubo channel, it would be better to secure lowland areas for use as floodwater storage point. This will go along way in cutting back on the 95% city water runoff that drains into it. The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has already identified key lowland areas that KCC should acquire or at least have them gazette as floodplain areas. This is an opportunity for a strong partnership between KCC and NEMA if there is none for the benefit of creating an environmentally safe city. Let\'s stop inflicting wounds on Kampala\'s surface because it will save the city or else we might be creating a \"Venezuela-like\" catastrophe. Kampala should strive for more floodwater catchment areas instead of increased piped drainage systems. By the way, we have hills, why can\'t we take advantage of them and let nature do its job? Adule New Law on Graft & KCC $ 28 Million drainage System d b Tue, 09 Nov 2004 06:26:01 -0800 Amazing Grace - this our country who will save it from a downward spiral? Bwanika. Govt drafts anti-graft regulations THE Government is drafting a new anti-corruption law to combat the more complex forms of graft that have emerged since the old legislation was passed in 1964. Ethics and integrity director in the Office of the President Ashaba Aheebwa on Friday said the bill would be in Parliament next year. “The old law defines bribery in a weak way and we have found it difficult to pin bribery suspects. But the next law shall be more comprehensive,” said Aheebwa at the anti-corruption school debating competition at the London College of St. Lawrence in Maya. http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/21/398826 SIR— Following the recent incident on Entebbe Road, some colleagues and I made it a point to drive to Entebbe Airport in the early hours of the day to ascertain the level of police patrols on that vital-link road. Last Saturday, however, floods awaited me at Mukwano Road and the Clock Tower, with several vehicles stranded, blocking off the road and the Clock Tower roundabout. I estimated the water to be over one metre deep in some sections, as one saloon car was under water up to the windows. Hotel shuttle buses on the way to the airport were delayed as a result of the floods, which have happened after Nakivubo Channel was inaugurated and road and drainage works supposedly done to avoid exactly this happening. Visitors caught in such circumstances will not leave as happy customers when they have to miss their flights. Those responsible in KCC should shape up or ship out. We have the Commonwealth Summit in 2007 coming, and we expect the host city to shine, not to be under water! Wolfgang H. Thome President Bwanika Bwanika ________ http://www.idr.co.ug --> for your consultancy needs http://p201.ezboard.com/fugandamanufacturersassociationfrm1 ----------------------------------------------------------- Spela poker mot verkliga människor över Internet. 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