Officials

The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and Nile Basin Initiative have signed a deal which saw the later handing over 5 Hydrometeorological Monitoring and Management System stations to the government.

Hydrometeorological stations are used to monitor the hydrological parameters of rivers, lakes, reservoirs, channels and groundwater in real-time.

The technology captures water temperature, water level, and flow rate, among others.

It can be widely used for scientific research, disaster prevention and mitigation of natural hazards, and other fields.

The Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Pal Mai Deng together with the Executive Director of Nile Basin Initiative, Dr. Florence Grace officiated the launch and signed the handover documents in Mangala of Juba County on Wednesday.

Speaking at the event, the Minister expressed his gratitude to the Nile Basin Initiative leadership for what he describes as tremendous step to promote regional Water Cooperation.

“The government is committed to taking responsibility of the hydrological equipment & management and acknowledged the importance of having Monitoring system stations in the Country,” the statement reads.

“This is for regular & effective monitoring of the water level/volume, data collection & analysis, and more importantly to inform the government on making realistic decisions on Water related issues and climate change mitigation strategies.”

The Nile River’s basin spans across the countries of Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania.

There are approximately 928 meteorological stations and 423 hydrometric stations in the Nile Basin countries.

Over 70 per cent of the meteorological stations measure either just daily rainfall totals or rainfall and temperature.

In October 2022, South Sudan was hit by one of the worst floods in more than 50 years engulfing communities along the river Nile in Upper Nile Central Equatoria and Unity states.

Hundreds of thousands of people fled to higher ground, seeking refuge in army barracks, schools, churches and hospitals.