LUSAKA CITY FLOODS

ON Monday, our city had unprecedented rainfall of over

140ml on the rain gauge, I am told by our Town Clerk, Mr Alex Mwansa. The average rainfall in the city is normally around 40ml per session.

This instantly filled the city grounds to the brim and more so bearing in mind the city topography is a plateau, a trough.. like a basin from high hilly edges around Chilanga area in the south and Katuba areas in the north leading to water collecting in the baseline from Kanyama, CBD, Kamwala, Mumana area to Mtendere, Salama, Kaunda Square areas.

Many years ago, the flood water would be instantly absorbed or sucked down, contained by spongy dambos that existed between ZNBC towards Parliament and towards UNZA to the correctly named location called Marshlands to Chudleigh down to Foxdale or Meanwood Mutumbi area.

These swamps unfortunately have over the years been transformed into concrete structures.. buildings... some if not most illegal but some legal.

Yes, approved by the council or the governments of the day from over 20 years ago but suffice to say don’t know why they did so as I was not there and not party of to have attempted to stop them.

I am however much alive to the saying “pianago apyana namabala” which means “he who inherits, takes over both the good and the bad of that seat or throne (mayoral).”

So the problem of floods mainly due to blocked natural soak away and natural draining city paths is now my problem also and unfortunately I should take responsibility for the past human errors at LCC and beyond.

What have we been doing since the last rain season to mitigate floods?

1.

Cleaning of drainages especially the Bombay main drainage line that collects and drains water from the south to the north end of the entire city. I must say the Bombay drainage played its intended role as can be seen from a video clip with massive volume of water flowing in extreme fast speed. It could have been worse without the Bombay drainage constructed in the last 10 years at a cost of around $30 million courtesy of the American government via the Millennium Challenge programme.

2. LCC has also been demolishing some illegal structures built around the Bombay drainage and elsewhere like in Salama and Munali areas.

3. LCC has in the past one year since the last rains unblocked the outer points of the underground drainage system in CBD.

4. LCC has bought a water pumping truck to help suck out water especially from inside homes when it happens. We needed and still need more if our resource base allowed.

WHAT ARE WE DOING TODAY. IMMEDIATE MEASURES

1. The rains of yesterday calls for immediate humanitarian support to some most affected homes. Our Town Clerk is meeting up with the Disaster Mitigating Management Unit (DMMU) for possible immediate logistical support to victims of the unprecedented rainfall.

2. I have asked the Town Clerk to engage Afcon Contractors working on the Lusaka Decongestion project to prioretise and recheck the drainages along all their road works that I must mention have not yet been handed back to LCC to manage.

3. We will be enhancing our sensitisation programme to residents on safety measures to undertake in such flood time and more so remind them to the pending dangers or the Cholera disease following such heavy rains.

4. We will be loud on media and door to door reminding residents especially in highly densely populated areas not to drink shallow well water as it is likely to mix with dirt underground. Such water should first be boiled if it has to be drunk.

5. Remind residents to observe cleanliness at all time by not throwing litter anyhow and also wash hands frequently with soap at all times.

LONG TERM SOLUTION TO CITY FLOODS

This requires a huge capital project to redo the entire city floods drainage system that would include two more types of Bombay Drainage systems on the far east and west of the city.

The cost herein would be around $300m and evidently beyond the financial capacity muscle of the council. We shall therefore continue to engage the central government and the donor community for support in the floods conundrum.

Many thanks for all your involvement and it’s never been any louder that something need to be done about the Lusaka floods sooner than later. We all cannot continue looking at it as Business As Usual (BAU) year in year out doing nothing about it but expecting and hoping the rains won’t cause floods. It’s always likely and going to happen and more so that it has been and now also happening in other African countries like Mozambique and other parts of the world.

Climate change is real.

We have to prioritise investing in new bulk city drainage systems.

MILES B SAMPA, Mayor, City of Lusaka.