Mozambique: Dams in the north above alert level

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Mozambique: Dams in the north above alert level

9:07 CAT | 03 Mar 2022

File photo: O País

Almost all the dams in the north of Mozambique are full, and with rain continuing to fall, some flooding has begun in Nampula, although the situation is not yet considered alarming.

The Cabo Delgado, Niassa and Nampula dams are all at their maximum storage volumes, with the exception of Mujica, in Monapo, Nampula province, which is 98% full. As rainfall continues, flooding is occurring, with attention at the moment turned on the district of Angoche, on the Nampula coast.

“We are getting worried because of the Melule basin, which is above the alert level, and we are seeing some consequences in the administrative post of Aube, in Angoche district, where we already have floods,” said Carlitos Omar, regional director of Água-Norte.

Meanwhile, contributions are being collected in Nampula concerning the draft Water Supply and Sanitation Law, which is to be created for the first time in the country, to complement the current Water Law, which is generic with regard to water services and sanitation.

“What is new in this new law is that the entire [water supply] service is public. Either from the private operator or from the public entity itself. So, for the service to be public, it must be regulated. It is necessary to know if the water quality is good; if the quality of the tributary [is good]. If we look at the issue of sanitation, what do they discharge into the environment? Is this water quality one which does not put the environment at risk? Is the population being served” And so on. So regulation will target these aspects,” explained Luís Macário, coordinator of the Urban Sanitation Project.

The water supply sector has attracted a new approach in recent times, with the government proposing a social service of public interest, but also a business that can generate money for private investors. The future Water and Sanitation Law will specify how these two interests are to be safeguarded and reconciled.

By Ricardo Machava

Source: O País