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Angola: Dams Release Water as Kwanza River Rises

Angola: Dams Release Water as Kwanza River Rises

Angola’s National Electricity Transmission Network (RNT) opened the sluices of the Laúca dam on Monday, due to the amount of water in the Kwanza river, the operator of Angola’s public electricity system announced.

A statement from the company said that the same process would be carried out shortly afterwards at the Cambambe hydroelectric power station in Kwanza Norte province.

According to the head of department of the RNT system’s operations directorate, Paulo Bernardo, discharging the water began last December, with the opening of the floodgates at the Capanda hydroelectric plant in Malanje province, due to the increase in flows, which is common at this time of year.

Paulo Bernardo, speaking to Angola’s Public Television, emphasised the need to carry out this process to safeguard these infrastructures, stressing that water levels are rising, ‘but in a controlled manner’.

‘For the Laúca dam, we are currently about two metres from the maximum safety level,’ he said, adding that once the Laúca operation is finished, the Cambambe operation will begin.

He pointed out that this procedure has been carried out in recent years, with the exception of 2021, due to low rainfall, and called on the population to pay attention, especially those who use river transport.

The National Civil Protection and Fire Service spokesman, Wilson Baptista, said that various awareness-raising and early warning actions are being carried out for the population, without detailing the number of people affected.

‘Last year, there was the same situation; the communities are, in a way, already familiarised with this action. Some residents of this area who suffer the greatest impact, already have the culture at this time of taking shelter at higher points in these localities and harvesting some of the crops that can be used in advance,’ he said.

Wilson Baptista emphasised that although the opening of the floodgates is taking place gradually, the increase in the river’s waters in areas where the riverbed is narrower still has a significant impact.

Lusa

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