Bagre Dam Spillage Has 200 Acres of Farms Submerged in Floods

As a result of the Bagre dam spillage in Ghana’s neighbouring country, Burkina Faso, a total of about 200 farm acres in the Kwahu Afram Plains North District in the Eastern Region have been submerged in flood waters.

Ten communities have been affected through the swelling of the Afram River causing serious floods in their areas. The communities are Dwarf and Digya Islands, Battor kope, Liva Kope, Baabu, Kedekope, Adantatia,  Srafo-Avutor, Yarokope and Doxekope.

The dam spillage also has seen rice, maize and cassava farms belonging to about 141 farmers destroyed, notable among them is a 168-acre rice farm which has been flooded at Dwarf Island.

The neighbouring Kwahu Afram Plains South District Director of NADMO, Stephen Afram yesterday, directed staff of the Organization to issue early warning signals to flood prone Communities along the Afram River.

Officials of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), after paying visits to the affected communities say that there monitoring the situation for assessments. And reports have it that no casualty has been recorded so far

Afram Plains area is reported to have not recorded rainfall for a month now a situation reducing the intensity of the flooding that would have been caused by the spillage.

The Annual Spillage of The Bagre Dam.

The annual spillage of Bagre Dam causes destructive and some fatal flooding incidents in Communities from the Northern part of Ghana to Southern sectors.

Sonabel, the agency responsible for the management of the Bagre and Kompienga dams, had indicated that the volumes of spilled water could be heavier this year.

The upstream level of the Bagre Dam as of Tuesday, August 11, 2020 was 234.97 metres. The rate of filling is 99.60 per cent compared to 62.44 per cent on the same date in 2019.

The spill gates have been opened, with an average discharge/flow of 76.50 cubic metres per second as of August 10, this year.

For the Kompienga Dam, the upstream level as of Monday, August 10, 2020 was 172.54 metres. The rate of filling is 39.26 per cent compared to 28.76 per cent on the same date in 2019

Some Communities in Bawku West District have also started experiencing flooding incidents which have submerged many farms.

With the annual spillage of the Bagre Dam, eleven districts are constantly affected in the Northern region and they include Karaga, East Gonja, Nanumba South, Tolon Kumbungu, Bole, West Gonja, Savelugu, Nanton, East Manprusi, Yendi, and West Mamprusi.

In the Upper East region, Bawku West, Binduri and Talensi districts will be affected, while in Upper West Region, Nandom, Lawra, Nadowli and Wa West districts will be affected.

Nkwanta North, Krachi East, Krachi West and Krachi Nchumuru districts in the Northern Volta are also affected. In the Eastern Region Afram Plains North and Afram Plains South districts and parts of Upper Manya Krobo are also affected.