Communities along White Volta spared 72 hours after opening of Bagre Dam

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga More than 72 hours after the opening of the sluice gates of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso, farmlands and communities downstream in the Upper East Region have been spared from the usual floods and destruction that comes with such exercise. Although, the volume of water in the White Volta River has swelled up, it has not extended to farmlands and communities along the river course. Briefing the Daily Graphic after a tour of the some communities along the White Volta, The Upper East Regional Director National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Mr. Patrick Akake said although there have been a swell in water levels, it was insignificant to course havoc. He has however caution farmers and people living along the water course to be mindful and avoid extra cautious and avoid activities such as fishing and attempting to cross the rising tide with their harvested crops to avoid drowning. According to Mr. Akake, information reaching him indicated that this time round due to the decision by the Burkinabe authorities to resort to a gradual spillage of water from the Bagre dam, the effect of flooding has been minimal. The floodgates to the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso were opened last Friday to allow excess water to flow out. For that reason, an alert was raised for people living in low-lying and flood-prone areas in the Upper East Region to evacuate to safe grounds. An official delegation, led by the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo and Alhaji Gilbert Iddi the Chief Executive Officer of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), were in Burkina Faso to observe the spillage of the excess water from the dam. It will be recalled that the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council and the NADMO issued an early warning last Tuesday following a correspondence from Burkina Faso that the dam in that country were full and the authorities there would be compelled to open them soon to allow the water to flow into the White Volta which flows through Ghana Residents in the region, along the river course were therefore informed of an imminent spilling and therefore advised to move to higher grounds in order to secure their lives rather than risk their lives by living in the course of the water. In 2007, the death toll from the floods that hit the Upper East Region as a result of the spillage and heavy rains was 31 with as total of 19,621 houses collapsing under the ravages of the floods. That same year, about 90,703 people were rendered homeless. In 2010, at least 12 lives were lost as a result of people trying to harvest their crops with the aid of canoes and collapsing switch houses following days of heavy rainfall and the opening of the sluice gates of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso. That same year, dozens of farmlands along the White Volta basin were inundated with water in several communities. As a long term solution to the problem of flooding, the Ghanaian Government has announced measures to harness the water by constructing a dam on the White Volta at Pwalugu in the Upper East. Work on that project is scheduled to commence in 2014 and completed by 2019. The multi purpose facility scheduled to be completed in 2019 will generate electric power and irrigate over 100,000 hectares of land. Its existence, he further noted, will promote water transport and improve fishing activities to reduce hunger and poverty. -End- August 27, 2012