The Kiira and Nalubaale hydro stations in Jinja are spilling out more water into the River Nile, at a time when Egypt is battling with Ethiopia over the river’s water flow.
The battle over Ethiopia’s 6,000MW Renaissance Dam recently moved to the US, with Washington arbitrating between the two countries with no success so far.
South African electricity generator, Eskom Uganda Ltd, operating the Kiira and Nalubaale power stations, has for the first time opened the spillway gates to let excess water drain out of Jinja dam as a safety measure for its own operations, downstream human settlement and to safeguard Bujagali and Isimba dams downstream.
Eskom officials told The EastAfrican that the effects of the water spillage will not be immediate. “The effects will be felt in Egypt after about three months,” said Peter Tentena, operations manager at Eskom.
The dam has reached its peak limit of 12.91 metres, which is four centimetres away from the warning limit of 12.95 metres, occasioned by heavier than normal rains experienced in the Lake Victoria catchment areas since 2019. On request by Eskom, Uganda’s directorate of water resources management, a body mandated under the Water Act 1998, issued the permit for water release of up to 400 cubic metres per second, equivalent to an Olympics swimming pool.
Source: The East African
The Ethiopian Herald March 10/2020
