Water-related disasters to increase   By Juliet Waiswa   LUCY Nandudu was in her small house during a gradually intensifying downpour when her world turned upside down. There was a loud noise and then the sound of people wailing filled the air. But she was lucky to survive the Bududa land slides that recently left hundreds of people dead and others homeless. “My husband and I survived. We were in the house at 7:00pm when we heard a crackling sound. At 7:30pm, we heard the same sound again. At 8:00pm when we heard it again, it was followed by the rolling stones and soil,” she says. The continous rain caused the landslide. Water is life, or so we believe. How, then, do we explain disasters brought about by water? This and other water related calamities make one hate the mention of water. Experts warn that if no action is taken, global climatic change will undoubtedly have profound effects on water and sanitation.   Water-related disasters like floods are likely to increase because of climate change In her message at the ongoing 15th African International Water Congress and Exhibition, in Kampala Munyonyo, the executive director of UN-Habitat Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, said unless urgent action is taken, the climate change rising energy prices are likely to reverse crucial gains achieved by the ongoing water and sanitation sector reforms in Africa. She also said experts warn of increased incidence of water borne diseases due to groundwater pollution and reduced water availability caused by global climate change. Tibaijuka revealed that experts also say there is likely to be greater risks of vector –borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever due to localised flooding in addition to major disruption in service provision. There is also fear that today cities all over the world are facing a range of dynamic regional and global pressures, such as population growth, urbanisation, deterioration of urban infrastructure systems and more. Researchers say the vulnerability of surface water and ground water to degradation depends on a combination of natural landscape features, such as geology, topography, and soils; climate and atmospheric contributions; and human activities related to different land uses and land-management practices. The quality of our water is not good enough for normal use sometimes. National Water and Sewerage Corporation however recognises these pressures and is attempting to address this through the Water Safety Plan (WSP). The plan is to ensure that water supply is safe for human consumption and that it meets the health based standards and other regulatory requirements. Uganda through the National Water and Sewerage Corporation participated in the training of WSP staff last year in South Africa in order to take advantage of the WSP which is ensuring the safety of water in all types of water supply systems. Through the Managing Director of NWSC, William Muhairwe, a WSP team was formed with the responsibility of carrying out system description, identification of hazards and hazardous events and risk assessment. According to a report members of NWSC who attended the training said understanding the risks allows them to implement effective controls to safeguard water quality and this should greatly enhance the confidence of customers and other stakeholders’. According to the Ministry of Water and Environment, access to functioning water sources varies considerably among districts, from 12% to 95%. The Government aims to reach universal water supply and sanitation coverage in urban areas and 77% water supply and 95% sanitation coverage by 2015. The Managing Director of NWSC said the ongoing congress is discussing service provision of water, sewerage and energy. He added that it will discuss the water levels of Lake Victoria, adding the main reason why experts had gathered to discuss remedies.