Some hydropower, water treatment plants resume as recovery efforts intensify

Some of the hydropower and water treatment plants that had ceased operations due to flooding and landslides across the country are restarting, thanks to the intensified recovery efforts. Gisenyi hydropower plant which supplies 1.7 megawatts to the national grid is one of those affected by River Sebeya’s flooding, in Rubavu district. ALSO READ: Will proposed Rwf7.5 billion dams curb Sebeya River floods? On Friday morning, May 5, The New Times found workers busy taking out loads of debris and sand caused by erosion in the power plant. The flooding also destroyed part of the plant’s infrastructure. “The power plant stopped operations on May 3 and it has not yet resumed operations up to now. However, we hope that today it could resume operations if the plan goes well,” said Baptiste Ngendahanda, the plant manager. ALSO READ: Water shortage threat as treatment plants are hit by floods Meanwhile, Gihira water treatment plant in Rubavu district and Nzove water treatment plant that supplies water to the City of Kigali and its outskirts have resumed operations. An official at The Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC Ltd) said the two water treatment plants are now operating 100 percent although water supply has not yet normalized in the network systems. Nzove water treatment plant currently produces 60,000 cubic metres per day. As of June 2022, Kigali consumed 117,000 cubic meters of water per day of which Nzove plant contributes a lot. Gihira water treatment plant, which sources water from River Sebeya, produces 23,000 cubic meters per day for four sectors of Gisenyi, Rubavu, Rugerero and Nyamyumba. However, the plant reportedly loses an average of Rwf20 million every heavy rainy season, according to WASAC. Meanwhile, WASAC officials said that two water treatment plants - Kanyabusage and Nyabahanga – that had also halted operations in Karongi district have not yet resumed operations. The district is one of those most affected by disasters in Western province. ALSO READ: WASAC mulls new measures to deal with impact of floods In 2020, WASAC announced that it was going to mobilize funds to conduct studies to find out ways of dealing with floods and swashed debris that continue to affect water treatment plants. Floods have triggered a Rwf4 billion loss after damaging water treatment plants and water supply systems across the country since the start of the year.

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Some hydropower, water treatment plants resume as recovery efforts intensify