Pequenos Libombos dam at full storage capacity, discharges to begin

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Pequenos Libombos dam at full storage capacity, discharges to begin

12:48 CAT | 09 Jan 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: O País]

The situation is critical on the Umbeluzi river in Maputo province, where the Pequenos Libombos dam is above 80% full, and there is little remaining capacity.

Discharges of water are therefore in order, with inevitable flooding and traffic constraints in Boane.

In the last rainy season, the Umbeluzi river flooded riverside areas and infrastructure, and circulation was constrained as a consequence.

In Boane’s Mazambanine area, 25 neighbourhoods were isolated by floodwaters and dependent on boats to communicate with the main village and other parts of Maputo province.

This Sunday, the National Directorate for Water Resources Management warned that discharges of over 50 cubic metres per second would be carried out, and Mafuinane, Mazambanine and Boane could be affected as to transitability, as last year.

READ: Mozambique: Further flooding in Maputo province forecast – Watch

“The hydrological situation of the Umbeluzi Basin, at the moment, is critical because around 130 cubic metres per second are flowing into Goba and we have a filling level in the Pequenos Libombos of around 88%. We do not have the capacity to accommodate this, so the only option at the moment is to discharge,” Agostinho Vilankulo, who is responsible for the sector, advanced.

The discharges to be carried out aim to safeguard the physical integrity of the Pequenos Libombos Dam, “due to the large inflows upstream because we are receiving about 30 metres per second; it is too much for the Umbeluzi basin. A decision will therefore be made to safeguard the security of the infrastructure”, Vilankulo explained.

Residents in Boane neighbourhoods who depend on crossing the river for their mobility are advised against attempting this without appropriate means.

By Amandio Borges

Source: O País