By Vincent Oola
I am writing in connection with the article which appeared recently in the Acholi Times on the water crisis in Gulu.
The fears that some of us had in the 1970s about the availability of water in and around Gulu and Kitgum have now materialised and undoubtedly it will be more serious than this unless very drastic action is taken and taken fast.
In the 1970s I worked for the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), and it was during this time that we drew up a five-year development plan which envisaged that by end of the five years, the NWSC would be operating in all the big towns in the country.
It became clear that the water sources in both Gulu and Kitgum would not be able to supply sufficient water to the populations in the future.
The Oyitino dam in Gulu cannot and should not be the main source of water and neither should boreholes be the main source of water in Kitgum up to this time, in the 21st century, taking into account population growth.
When discussing all the possible options for sustainable water supply in Gulu and Kitgum, the then Director of Water Development from the Ministry of Lands and Water Resources, mooted a very brilliant option; he recommended that a water main be laid from the Victoria Nile to a big reservoir or reservoirs to be placed on Got Omoro and/or Got Atoo. These godi are high enough so as to enable water flow by gravitation to Gulu, Kitgum, Kalongo and also to some parts of Lango sub-region.
Distribution pipes would then be laid as per requirements in these areas. This was a permanent source of sufficient water to all those areas for as long as the Victoria Nile would still flow.
Doing it now will definitely cost more money, but if an oil pipe can be laid from the Albertine to Lamu, Mombasa or Dar es Salaam, then why not lay water pipes to Gulu and Kitgum, much shorter distances in comparison. And of course water is more essential to life than oil!
This shortage of water is not only in Gulu municipality. The other day it was also reported in Amuru, and I can assure you that it will soon be all over the Acholi sub-region. That is when it will be very serious indeed. No one wants that to happen.
What emergency measures do we have in place to avoid this catastrophe happening? Or put it the other way round; are we seriously thinking of any emergency measures to avert this situation from happening? This is a real situation which if allowed to continue unabated will happen again and again. Real disaster is coming our way! We have to start working on the different options for a long lasting water sources NOW and not tomorrow.
I wonder what happened to the development plan which was done by the NWSC in the 1970s. I left the corporation after two years before it was implemented. Or was it just forgotten due to the many changes that took place with management that time.
How have we landed in this situation (drying of the water dam in Gulu thus the water shortage)?
In mind, there are three main underlying causes: Trees, which are essential in making rain, have virtually vanished in Acholi sub-region. There are many causes for this, but the main one is that during the war from 1986 to 2006, many, many trees were cut by the soldiers. Some of the trees were over 100 years old but they were simply cut and carried away. There were some mvule trees in Gulu municipality which were planted in the early 1900s. They were cut without any mercy whatsoever!
In the circumstances, we must start planting trees immediately all over the sub-region. The district and urban councils must take it up very seriously. And I must stress the importance of planting only the different types of our indigenous trees.
There is a living example of a man in Burkina Faso, by the name of Yacouba Sawadogo, who started planting indigenous trees in areas which were already semi desert. After only a few years, the place had changed completely – with forests back, rain back and all crops are now being grown like in the past. He is now a self-made expert who is being consulted by other countries in West Africa, since he single-handedly managed to fight against desertification in northern Burkina Faso.
I once looked at the coverage of underground water of all countries in Africa, only to find that the northern part of Uganda does not have much amount or quantity of underground water. This actually means that we cannot even rely on pumping water from underground (boreholes). It will soon run out because there is not enough rain to replenish it.
About 30 years ago, we still had very many streams criss-crossing the Acholi sub-region which were good sources of spring water (Wang-it). These streams are almost all dried up now.
In conclusion, I would like to say that we are talking about the lives of people, animals and birds and the environment generally. The best and only option is the Got Omoro/Got Atoo one. A cynic may say it will cost too much. What is too much when you are talking about lives of people? If it was done in the 1970s, it would have definitely cost much less, but it was not. And the longer it takes, the more it will cost. So do it now.
The management of the NWSC, together with the Acholi leaders, should facilitate the implementation of the project as early as possible.
Mr Oola is an Acholi elder who lives in the United Kingdom