Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene September 2018 Vol.13 No.4 | Page 7

NEWS in brief
Nigeria
Developing Water Transport Infrastructure
A few months ago, the General Manager of the Lagos State
Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) received a
distress call that a boat had capsized at the Ebute Terminal
in Lagos, drowning five persons. The entire office of the
agency was thrown into quandary.
Swiftly, rescue workers were mobilized to the scene of the
incident, to at least, see what could be salvaged.
On arrival, it was observed that a 20-capacity passenger
boat had capsized mid-sea, enroute Ikorodu from Lagos
Island.
“Unfortunately, five persons (four adult females and one
adult male) were confirmed dead as a result of the incident.
“Their bodies were deposited at the morgue at Ikorodu
General Hospital, while five persons (four female and one
male) were rescued alive,” a LASEMA bulletin stated.
It added that the rescue was carried out by the combined
effort of LASEMA, the Lagos State Waterways
Authority (LASWA), the Lagos State Ambulance Service
(LASAMBUS) and the State Environmental Health
Monitoring Unit (SEHMU).
Way back in May 2016 too, one person was confirmed
dead and 27 others injured when a 30-seater commercial
boat identified as HMS 1, capsized on Ikorodu waterways.
The boat, according to reports, capsized about 400 meters
away from its take-off point-Origin Jetty, at Ikorodu,
when it collided with a log abandoned on the waterways
by sawmill operators.
Residents in the area blamed the accident on over-loading
and over-speeding on the part of the operator, stressing
that the fatality could have been averted if the boat was
not on high speed.
Confirming the disaster, the General Manager of LASEMA
at the period, Mr. Michael Akindele, warned boat operators
to avoid over-speeding and to always comply with safety
regulations on the waterways, to avoid loss of lives. He
also noted that proper investigation would be conducted
on the incident.
Lamenting the disaster too, the Managing Director of
LASWA, Mrs. Abisola Kamson, noted that the rescue
operation started immediately, saying, “27 passengers
were rescued from the incident, but one passenger was
confirmed dead at the scene of the incident.”
She, however, reiterated that LASWA and NIWA had
issued out new guidelines and standards to boat operators
in Lagos, aimed at sanitizing and improving the waterways-
including a minimum double-hull standard, among others.
Kamson added that the state government would continue
Around Africa
to intensify efforts to speed up the implementation of
new reforms in the waterway sector, “so as to prevent any
unfortunate future occurrences.”
South Africa
City to Lower Water Restrictions and Tariffs to Level
5 from 1 October 2018
City of Cape Town Relaxes Water Restrictions, Tariffs to
Level 5
Cyclists ride past
Theewaterskloof
Dam, which has seen
improved water levels
after a prolonged
drought.
Cape Town Dam Levels Out Danger Zone
for First Time in Two Years
PRESS RELEASE Cape Town:
• Cape Town’s dam levels are nearing 70% of storage
capacity due to good rainfall at the beginning of
winter and the phenomenal conservation efforts of
Capetonians
• Water restrictions and the associated tariffs are thus
to be conservatively lowered in the interim to Level
5 from 1 October 2018
• This will bring tariff relief of between 26,6% and
70% per kilolitre of water depending on the usage
and tar iff category
• The water usage target will be increased from 50
litres to 70 litres per person per day and the daily
collective consumption target will increase by 50
million litres to 500 million litres to ensure that
water conservation efforts remain in place
The Western Cape Water Supply System’s dams are now
at 68% capacity, a very significant improvement on the
situation at the end of the previous winter, when they were
at 38% capacity. This was during a drought so uncommon
that it only has an estimated return period of 311 years.
The very low supply storage resulted in the imposition
of Level 6B water restrictions in February 2018. The
enormously positive response from Capetonians when
called upon to reduce water usage, as well as advanced
pressure and water management programmes by the City,
saved the day and Cape Town avoided the worst-case
scenario.
Once dam capacity again exceeded 50% at the beginning of
July 2018, the City called for a discussion with the National
Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) around the
relaxation of restrictions. Since then, two meetings have
been held with the other large users in the system, both
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