FCT Residents Count Loses After The Opening Of Usuma Dam

Some residents of Airport Village in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja have been counting their loses after the opening of the Usuma dam in the Bwari Local Area Council of the capital city.

According to a female resident of the village who gave her name as MJ spoke to THE WHISTLER over the incident.

She said the dam was opened in the early hours of today leading to the flooding of her fish ponds which resulted in the escape of fishes worth over a hundred thousand naira.

The flood victim stated further that the overflow also resulted in the washing away of some houses in the village, thereby rendering many homeless.

“The dam was opened this morning because the authorities have been announcing that they will soon open it. The dam was already filled up, so it’s better they ease out the water by themselves than allow it to be broken by itself. That way it won’t cause colossal damage,” she said.

She also revealed that her neighbor’s ponds were also affected and lamented that it will cause the victims a “fortune” to rebuild their ponds and the houses washed away.

Recall that the management of FCT water board had on August 9, 2019 said due to the heavy rainfall in the city, resident living along the Usuma Dam channel will experience an increase in the volume of water along the river channel.

In a statement, the board said the development follows an increase in the water level of the dam making the dam to spill into the Usuma River channel.

The board had also urged residents of Kubwa, Gwagwa-Karimo, Kuje, along Airport Road and Gwagwalada to be cautious of the development, adding that a routine maintenance work was going on at the treatment plant, hence some places in the city would also experience slightly cloudy water and low water supply.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan had in April 2014 commissioned the 480 million litres per day (mld) Phases 3&4 of the Lower Usuma Dam Water Treatment Plant.

The plant was commended as a world-class facility in the 2014 Global Water Awards in the Water Treatment Plant of the Year category