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Gihoroba residents fear water will disappear from valley dam
This valley dam is used by herders from Gihoroba and Mugari villages in Rutaraka Cell and Mirama First village in Nyagatare Cell.
It was dug in 2003 to help pastoralists who crossed the gravel road to irrigate the Umwomba River.
Since 2020, the valley dam has been filled, and even the two ponds that provide clean water for people and livestock during the dry season have overflowed, and the water has flowed onto the land of surrounding people.
The residents have written to the Nyagatare District Council requesting a transfer in order to find another piece of land, and the government has agreed to find a solution that would allow them to pass, although it has yet to be found.
Roads that were previously regulated are no longer pedestrian streets
On the other hand, as the rains continued to fall, the water grew to the point of overflowing and falling into the fields of nearby communities.
A resident named Radjab moved away from his home for fear of being washed away. He said even the original road is impassable.
“Also, people coming from above (Gihoroba), going to Nyagatare and from Rutaraka used to use the road above and below but you can see there is water flowing and they dare not cross it now, they are moving around,” he said.
Over-management of water has caused concern among regular water users, especially farmers, as they believe that one day all the water will disappear.
According to Wilson, the valley would otherwise be a solution for them because their cattle do not lack water even in the summer, but there is a fear that all the water may disappear completely.
He said: “Before the water flows through the top of the pipe, it flows through the bottom of the pipe first. When you drink a lot of water, you lose all of it, and in the morning when you take it away, all of the water is gone.
Water out of control is flowing back
Shyaka Kenneth, head of the Nyagatare District Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Natural Resources, said in collaboration between Nyagatare District, Rwanda Water Authority and RAB, they are looking at how to find sustainable solutions, including improving the management of valley dams.
He said water management work at the valley dams would be completed this summer so the rains would fall and the problem would be solved.
“There is no worry about the water system running out because a temporary route has been given and it is not a problem in the summer but when it rains and the water level is high, we have to repair it,” he said.
Currently, water from the valley dam flows through the river channel and through the land of five people before entering the main bridge to the Umwamba River, which has also caused people’s concerns. If the water breaks the river channel and the road, Mirama will be the first person you will collapse because of a little thirst.
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