In spite of the intensity of
the rains, dams in Nigeria are still in good condition, a director in the Ministry of Water Resources has said.
The Director Dams and Irrigation, Dr Emmanuel Adanu, said this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja recently.
Adanu added that the dams were being strictly monitored to prevent flood and that none of the dams was stressed or experiencing excessive inflow.
According to him, the monitoring mechanisms specifically check the inflow, discharge and the rise of water in the dams.
He, however, said that based on the prediction of heavy rains by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), if the pattern of rainfall changed significantly, might be a recurrence of 2012 flooding.
“ We still keep monitoring our dams because excessive inflow can cause some problems, so we are monitoring the dams.
“The only dam giving us some problem we are handling now and it is not because of the falls now it is because of some erosion.
“But based on the prediction and the experience we are having from the rainfall, now we have not seen any dam that is highly distressed.
“This prediction came sometime ago and we have been very much aware of it and we are monitoring the rainfall; even, we have the flood outlook, what it might look like based on the prediction.
“So we are very careful and monitoring strictly the rainfall pattern, the rainfall intensity, the water rise in the dams, water flow and the discharges.
“If we have the same kind of rainfall we had last year, with the character, the altitude, and everything, it can still happen.
“But fortunately, we are monitoring that system — the Benue system — and at this time last year, the discharge we had actually was more than what we have now.
“So we are a bit safe to some extent but if the rainfall pattern changes and we have similar rainfall, we may still have some problem from there; so we are preparing ourselves.’’
On flooding, Adanu cited a recent report from Adamawa indicating that some areas at the confluence of River Gongola and River Benue were being flooded.
The director added that this flood was from within Nigeria and not from Lagdo Dam in Cameroon.
He blamed the situation on the heavy rainfall recorded in the Plateau recently.
“ I heard a report from Adamawa that certain areas at the confluence of River Gongola are being flooded; fortunately this is not from Lagdo in Cameroon, this is from within Nigeria.
“And our interpretation is that there has been a lot of  heavy rainfall in the Plateau around Jos; a lot of rainfall and these rivers originate from there — River Kaduna, River Gongola and River Jamare — all originate from there; so they take water from this origin.
“Normally at the confluence when a tributary meets the main river at that confluence there is always a build up of water.
“Because the water coming from the tributary meets the water in the mainstream and it builds up immediately.
“Because the mainstream may not take the whole flow immediately at the same rate so there is always a build up backwards towards the tributaries and that’s what is happening.’’
He gave an assurance that the Kashimbilla Multipurpose Buffer Dam would be 100 per cent completed by 2014.
He explained that the installation of the hydropower component of the dam was the major delay at the moment.
He added that the dam would be closed during the dry season next year because it was safer at that season to close a dam.
“ We thought we could finish it this year but for the hydropower component we are installing; the dam itself is almost finished except for the hydro power.
“By next year surely but there are certain aspects that are 100 per cent complete some 70, 80 so effectively it is the hydro power component that is delaying us.
“As soon as we finish that, we close and because of the flooding  we experienced last year, it won’t be technically advisable for us to close when the flood is very high.
“ Because you are subjecting a new structure to a high flood, normally you close when the discharge is small so that the structure gets used to the increasing pressure gradually.’’