Greater Maputo: Water restriction alert – Noticias

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Greater Maputo: Water restriction alert – Noticias

12:11 CAT | 07 Jan 2021

FILE PHOTO - Pequenos Libombos. [File photo: Noticias]

The water supply in the Greater Maputo region, which includes Maputo, Matola and Boane, may be restricted if sufficient rain doesn’t fall in the main hydrographic basins in this region of the country soon.

At a joint press conference held in Maputo yesterday by the National Institute of Meteorology, the National Directorate for Water Resources Management and the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management indicated that the Pequenos Libombos dam currently stands at 18% capacity against the 26% registered at the same time last year.

According to José Malanço, head of the information management division at the National Directorate for Water Resources Management, the water level in the 400 million cubic metre Pequenos Libombos Dam on the Umbeluzi River is already cause for concern.

“The forecast is that if this scarcity of precipitation continues, restrictions in terms of water supply in the city of Maputo will probably be taken,” Malanço said.

He nevertheless reassured the public that, despite the low filling levels, the supply of drinking water to the population remains at 100 percent, and that for irrigation at 30 percent .

The national hydrological situation in general will remain stable without registering major changes in the current indications, Malanço added.

“However, because we have a high flow in the Búzi, Zambeze and Limpopo rivers, these basins deserve special attention. Any precipitation above 100 or 150 millimetres in the next few days may result in flooding,” he said, calling on those living in these basins to secure their assets against such a risk.

With regard to reservoir levels, water inflow is not expected to increase because of scarcity of rainfall, not only in Mozambique but also in neighbouring countries.

“Our wish is for significant rainfall in the South which, perhaps, could resolve the situation in the Pequenos Libombos Dam, and also in the North, especially [because of the situation at] the Nampula Dam. Normally, the Nampula Dam should be over 80 percent full [at this time of year], but currently stands at only 24 percent,” he said.

Also read: Mozambique: “The city of the empty jerrycans” – Watch

The information comes at a time when the National Institute of Meteorology (INAM) is predicting heavy rainfall, especially in the north and centre of the country.

“The forecasts indicate a scarcity of rainfall in the southern region of the country, despite occasional heavy rain, but well below normal,” Acácio Tembe, head of the forecasting at INAM, warned.

Source: Noticias