The government has advised the Water Resource Management Agency (WARMA) to come up with a mechanism for harvesting water resulting from floods. CENTRAL Province Permanent Secretary Milner Mwanakampwe says WARMA apart from carrying out its statutory obligation of regulation of water usage must also control the excess water from going To waste.
Mr Mwanakampwe said this during a meeting with the WARMA Board at his office, yesterday.
“ We come from one access where we are crying of floods to another excess where we are crying of no water, that paradox ought to be solved,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary observed that most of the water that comes as a result of floods just goes to Kafue and the ocean when in fact the country needs more of it.
WARMA Vice Board Chairperson Elestina Mwelwa says they are in the province to interact with water users and check on the compliance levels of usage following the expiry of amnesty.
“The Lunsemfwa catchment we are visiting has two major users, the farmers that mean food and the hydropower sector which means energy but we need both without forgetting the local people who also need water for survival,” said Dr Mwelwa.
She disclosed that the water resources assessment conducted last year revealed a number of challenges the water users were facing some of them bordered on illegalities.
The Board Vice Chairperson added that the New Dawn government gave a 90 days amnesty to control the water usage instead.
