Parliament of Uganda OFFICE OF THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION AN OVERSIGHT VISIT REPORT ON THE KASESE FLOODS MAY 2O2O R-L Hon. Namaganda Veronica, Hon. Sewungu Gonzaga and the Leader of the Opposition Hon. Betty Aol Ocan with some leaders of the Kasese Local Government. By Hon. Betty Aol Ocan District Woman Representative, G ul u. Leader of the Opposition. ! Contents 1 .0 lntroduction............... ..3 2.0 lntenl of Trip. ..3 3.0 Methodology. ..3 4.0 Bockground. .,4 5.4 Environment and Natural Resources 4 6.0 Understonding the Genesis of Floods in Kosese. ... ..5 .....5 6.1 Threats to the Catchment Areas.......... .....5 6.2 Modifications of River Nyamwamba.......... ....,5 6.3 Collapse of River Bank Management Regimes. .,...6 6.4 River Diversion. .....6 6.5 Loss of Riparian Vegetation. .....7 6.6 River Channel Aggradations and Degradation..........., .....8 6.7 Bridges.. .....8 6.8 Gravel Extraction... .....8 7.0 The 2013 ond 2014 Floods. .............. I 8.0 Observolions. 9 8.1 Rapid assessment to ascertain the extent of damage 9 8.2 Preliminary damages are summarized below: 9 ?.0 Generol Recommendotions. .....................11 The lmmediote lnterventions required. ............,........11 long lerm Flood Disoster Monogemenl options................. .......1.1 . Relocotion of the most vulneroble persons: ........................12 . lmmediote tree plonling olong the riverbonks: ........... ......12 . Periodic Chonnel De-silting ond dredging to increose flow surfoce qreo. ........12 Conctusions:............... .....................12 2 1.0 lnlroduclion Kosese District hos once ogoin been hit by onother disostrous flood exoctly seven yeors ofter the one of lst Moy 2013 on the sqme five moin rivers of Lhubiriho, Mubuku, Nyomwombo, Nyomugosoniond Sebwe troversing eleven Sub Counties ond 3 Divisions. Severe flooding storted of oround midnight ond peoked between 03:00 ond 04:00hrs of 7th Moy 2020. Previously, flooding wos registered on 8th Moy 2014, ond 6th Moy 2015. All these flood disosters including the current one hove hod the some chorocteristics of bursting the river bonks, of neorly the some weok points os in the 20,I3 floods. The current flooding storted with River Nyomwombo bursting its bonks on severol weok points olong the river in porticulor the oreos of Kosese Municipol Council, with Nyomwombo ond Bulembio division being severely offected. These floods hove swept owoy Kyonjuki-Kotiri Bridge ond Kilembe mines Hospitol infrostructure including the Store, Morgue ond words os well os interruption of oll Hospitol services. Simultoneous floods hove olso occurred olong River Lhubiriho in Bukonzo west with heovy effects in the Sub Counties of Kitholhu, Korombi ond Mpondwe-Lhubiriho Town Council while river Nyomugosoni in the Bukonzo Eost offected in the sub counties of Kyorumbo, Kyondo ond Kisingo. River Mubuku flooding on the other hond offected the communities of Molibo, Bugogye ond Korusondoro Sub Counties. Equolly offected ore lbondo-Kyonyo Town Council, Kisingo Town council Mubuku Town Council. 2.0 Intent of Trip. The trip wos intended of ossessing the level of domoge coused by the floods in Moy 2020, emergency response ond recovery efforts undertoken by vorious stokeholders. Estoblish the mognitude of the domoge, evoluote emergency response meosures ond recovery efforts undertoken so ofor ond look of the gops in ony. 3.0 Melhodology. The following octivities were undertoken: o) Scheduling ond holding joint meeting with politicol leoders, district technicol officers, civil society orgonisqtions ond medio; ond b) lnspection of flood hit oreos. <_ 3 ^-f 4.0 Bockground. Most of the rivers in Kosese district originote from the Rwenzori Mountoins ond empty their woters into the two droinoge bosins of Lokes George ond Edword. There ore numerous socio-economic octivities being undertoken within the cotchments of these rivers, both by the public ond the privote sectors dominoted by subsistence forming for livelihoods of the mountoin communities. These include ogriculture, industry, settlements/urbonizotion, Mining, energy production (mini-hydro-electric power generotion) ond wildlife conservotion. There ore, however o number of threots posed by mony of these octivities to the woter resources, ond the wotersheds in porticulor. The mojor threots include increosing humon populotion ond its pressures on lond, encroochment ond degrodotion of frogile ecosystems porticulorly on the sensitive mountoin slopes ond river bonks; ond weok monogement of the environment ond noturol resources. Recently, unsustoinoble Iond-use proctices such os deforestotion, overgrozing, cultivotion of steep slopes without integrotion of prudent soil ond wqter conservotion proctices, ond riverbqnks ond wetlonds degrodotion hove been blomed for increosed occurrence of environmentol disosters in the oreo. The topogrophy of Kosese ore olso chorocterized by 3 moin ottributes which include l. Protected oreo-Rwenzori Mountoins Notionol Pork 2. Community lond chorocterized by the bore hills ond the subsistence ogriculturol production zone 3. Settlements olong the river systems with the ossocioted problems. 5.4 Environmenl ond Nolurol Resources Amongst the environmentol problems the district is focing of the moment include excessive melting of snow cover on Rwenzori Mountoin, soil erosion, loss of soil fertility, increosed lond conflicts, reduced vegetotion cover, poor heolth ond sonitotion, reduced fish stocks, poor lond use plonning, pollution, degroded wetlonds, river bonks, ond lokeshores ond conflicts with Protected Areosl. The environmentol degrodotion in Kosese district is moinly ottributed to the increose in populotion ond resultont quest for more ogriculturol ond grozing lond. Yet much of Kosese district lond oreo is gozetted os protected oreos such os the Queen Elizobeth Notionol ond Rwenzori mountoins Notionol Pork. I Kosese District Development Plon for the period 2010/11 -2014115 :- 4 6.0 Underslonding the Genesis of Floods in Kqsese River Nyomwombo, Mubuku ond Nyomugosoni Cotchment Areos. Originoting in the Rwenzoris Mountoins of Western Ugondo, Rivers Nyomwombo, Mubuku ond Nyomugosoni ond their tributories droln on opproximote 300 kmz wotershed of steep mountoins, deep forested oreo of the Rwenzori Mountoins Notionol Pork, ond brood open volleys. The rivers droin into Loke George ond Edword. The topogrophy of the cotchment is very pronounced. The highest point in the wotershed is formed by the tops of the Rwenzori Mountoins with heights of up to 5,.l09 metres obove seo level. Ihe lowest point in the wotershed is the swomp oreo in which Rivers Mubuku ond Nyomwombo dischorge. The swomp is linked to Loke George ond hos on oltitude of opproximotely 915 metres obove seo level. River Nyomugosoni dischorges in the Loke Edword system. The slopes of the volleys in the moin upper wotershed of oll the 3 focol rivers ore more than 25% ond reduce in the middle zone to obout 10-20%. The lower low lond slopes ore mild up to obout 5%2, 6.1 Threots lo the Cotchmenl Areos The cotchment oreos hove severol socio-economic octivities such os ogriculture, industry, settlements, urbonizotion, hydroelectric power generotion ond wildlife conservotion. 6.2 Modificolions of River Nyomwombo River Nyomwombo which flows through the Rwenzori Mountoins Notionol Pork, Kilembe, Kosese Municipolity ond the Queen Elizqbeth Notionol Pork before it finolly pours its woters in the Loke George hos been the most disostrous. 2 Kosese Districl Locol Government, Moy 2014. Floods Occunences Report 1" Moy 2013 ond 8th Moy 2014 5 <- Figure 5: Flood risk oreos ond elemenls olong Nyomwombo in Kilembes t l-egen€l 4.... -, ; Surcunty boundary Floo<, ra-k tevel- (E)eptti) If-il[Il Le* ilE Hlgh Ir re The disostrous effects of River Nyomwombo ore ottributed to: 6.3 Collopse of River Bonk Monogemenl Regimes. Following the closure of Kilembe Mines Limited, the desilting regimes of the River Nyomwombo volleys in the upper Kilembe zones stopped oltogether. Over the yeors, boulders of vorious sizes hove occumulcrted in the river ond essentiolly reduced the effective width, chonnel volume ond river tronsport copocity. The reduced river depth ond width contributed to the river bursting its bonks. 6.4 River Diversion. Ihere ore fwo principol woter diversions for River Nyomwombo. The mojor one is below Konzuki villoge where the entire river wos diverted from its moin chonnel to on ortificiol one purposely to creote on oreo lorge enough to coter for construction of the Kilembe Mine premises. This meont thot the river wos directed to flow in on oreo with weok river bonks compored to the olreody hordened bonks in its originol chonnel. The strength of the diversion structures is the only hope for those people living in the vulneroble oreos. The other diversions of significonce ore olong the illegol irrigotion points olong River Nyomwombq downstreom. The diversions weokened the bonks ond moke it eosy for the river to flow over its bonks destroying crops ond other neorby structures. e Siudy of the flooding in Rwenzori Mountoin for effeciive disosler Monogemenl, November 2013 6 rSLc c Figure 6: llluslrolions of River Nyomwombq diversions (shown by orrows) - 36N 0166589, UTM 0024041)4 6.5 loss of Riporion Vegelolion. Loss of riporion vegetotion through humon octivities porticulorly deforestotion reduced bonk slope stobility ond increosed sedimentotion to the river. Furthermore in Februory 2012 |ves destroyed vegetotion covering l5 kmz ot obout 3000 - 4000 metres obove seo level in upper reoches of Nyomwqmbo ond Nyomugosoni