Assessing the existing water resource management strategies for mitigating flooding along river Nyamwamba in Kasese municipality, Kasese district

Abstract

This study assessed the existing water resource management strategies for mitigating flooding along the River Nyamwamba in Kasese Municipality, Kasese District. The following objectives guided the study: i) to identify the existing Water Resource Management strategies implemented for mitigating flooding along River Nyamwamba in Kasese Municipality; ii) to identify the challenges of the existing Water Resource Management strategies for mitigating flooding along River Nyamwamba in Kasese Municipality; iii) to examine the perceptions of local communities towards the existing water resource management strategies for mitigating flooding along River Nyamwamba in Kasese Municipality. A mixed-methods research design was used for this study. This design combined both qualitative and quantitative research methods to provide a comprehensive understanding of the existing Water Resources Management strategies for flood mitigation along River Nyamwamba in Kasese Municipality. The qualitative component allowed an in-depth exploration of stakeholders' perspectives, experiences, and perceptions, while the quantitative component provided empirical data on flood characteristics, hydrological parameters, and the effectiveness of management strategies. A total sample of 650 respondents was reached for the information, with a random sample of 50 respondents each from different households from well-known areas that have occasionally been hit by floods in all three divisions of the municipality. The study used simple random and purposive sampling to select the participants. Questionnaires, interview guides, and observation methods were used to collect data. Data was collected from different villages and underwent different processing stages of editing, organizing, and coding. And later analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 21 for easy interpretation of the findings. The study found out that there was conflict/limited acceptance of some government projects in Kasese Municipality for fear of government grabbing their land. Whenever the government tried to plant bamboo along the river banks to contain flood waters, the locals uprooted them. Community members were anxious that the government had plans of evicting them from their settlement, and they were also suspicious of losing their properties to the government for having come up with a strategy to fight massive flooding and help the community. As a result, there was limited acceptance of some government projects in Kasese Municipality for fear of the government grabbing their land.