Ghana has been advised to take precautionary measures to save lives and properties as the regular spillage of the Bagre Dam in Burkina Faso is set to begin on Monday, 19th August 2024.
According to the authorities managing the Bagre Dam, SONABEL, the Burkinabe Power Utility Company indicates that the water level of the dam has reached over 232 metres and it keeps rising hence necessitating the spillage to save the huge infrastructure from destruction.
Given that the spillage is expected to flow to the White Volta River area in Ghana, the Burkinabe authorities have served noticed that Ghana should be on guard.
Burkina Faso is spilling the excess water at a time that most part of northern Ghana is experiencing drought, with a looming food crisis.
According to a statement released by the Water Resources Commission at the White Volta Basin Secretariat, residents currently residing and working around the banks of the White Volta are admonished to stay safe to avoid casualties.
“The Water Resources Commission has been advised by SONABEL, the Power Utility of Burkina Faso on Friday, August 16th, 2024, that the level of water in the Bagre Dam has been rising since Friday, August 2nd, 2024. This is to inform you of your further action relating to flood management. We will furnish you with additional information on this matter as this becomes available to us,” the statement indicated.
The Bagre Dam is a multipurpose dam on the White Volta located near Bagre Village in Burkina Faso. The regular spillage of the dam mostly affects the Chereponi District in the North East Region of Ghana.
The major economic activity in the district is farming. Residents cultivate crops such as rice, soya beans, corn, ground nuts, and watermelon among others which are mostly destroyed by the perennial flooding caused by the spillage of the dam.
Not only their hard work is left at the mercy of the dam spillage-induced floods, but precious lives are sometimes lost in the process.
For instance, in September 2020, the spillage caused ten deaths as several people were rendered homeless after spillage.
Other districts that are mostly affected include Bawku Municipal, Bawku West, Binduri, Nabdam and Talensi.
Experts, over the years of the spillage, have been advocating that the governments of the two states should collaborate to find a lasting solution to the menace but nothing has been done so far.
Meanwhile, a similar spillage of the Akosombo Dam in the Volta Region last year caused huge distress in the area. Residents of Battor, Mepe Adidome, Tefle, and Sogakope, down to Anlo in the Volta Region found themselves bearing the brunt of the spillage.
Farms, houses, and even cemeteries were submerged in floodwaters. The inundation disrupted essential services, leading to water and electricity supply cutoffs. As a result, residents found themselves grappling with the multifaceted impact of this flooding.
