By Sorie Ibrahim Fofanah
In a social media tweet, the Managing Director of the Guma Valley Water Company, Maada S. Kpenge says there is going to be a long dry season, due to the spillage at the Guma dam that ended early.
And further buttressing the tweet in an interview with Politico, the Communication Manager for the Guma Valley Water Company, Alie Kabba said early stoppage of spillage at the Guma dam is happening as a result of human activities around the Guma dam.
He said spillage happens when the dam is full, leading to excess water running over into the Number Two River and then into the Atlantic Ocean.
In twelve years, he said this year’s raining season is the earliest for the stoppage of spill over at the Guma Dam facility, noting that early stoppage of spillage at the dam would force them to use the water at the reservoir, admitting they may have to start using the ‘actual water at the reservoir early.’ Kabba maintained that they would like the spillage to be going for long amidst the rainy season to November.
On what Guma is doing to ensure that the spillage of water at the dam would be managed in another facility, he said they have plans and are ‘looking’ for funds to build a dam that will ‘capture’ the spillage called Guma Two at the River Number Two, but stated that there are serious deforestation and housing development happening around the facility.
Speaking about the dam level, he said it is eight hundred and sixty-two feet (862ft) above sea level. “So, immediately we begin to draw down it will reduce to 860 to 861ft, and we don’t want early draw down because we don’t know when the rains would start coming again,’’ he added.
He went on to say that the Metrological Agency had earlier predicted that the rains would not be much this year. “These are issues that have to do with climate change and deforestation,’’ he said, adding they would like to keep the forests around the dam area as it would retain more water.
He recalled that in the years past, there were rains coming around the dam area till January, but due to human activities, there are not much rains coming. “What Guma will be doing now is to manage the water very well, ensuring that we monitor the evaporation and the climate around the dam,’’ Kabba said.
On what Guma is doing to address the effects of human activities around the dam, Kabba said having been acting as a ‘whistleblower’ for the past 30 years in bringing it to the attention of the government, calling on the formation of the inter-ministerial committee on water catchments, water lands, and mangroves, he noted.
In addition to addressing the effects of human activities at the dam site, Kabba said they have done tree planting in partnership with Catholic Relief Service, Environmental Foundation for Africa, and European Union among others.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (29/09/23)
