Aquatic ecology monitoring: water quality, fish, fish catch, sanitation and disease vectors: monitoring no.12, 25th-30th April 2013

Bujagali hydropower dam construction is now completed and a reservoir behind the dam has been created, extending all the way up to Kalange-Makwanzi, an upstream transects. During the 10th monitoring survey-April 2012, a third transect was established in the mid of the reservoir where it runs up to 30 m deep and sampled similarly as at the two original sampling transects, Kalange-Makwanzi and Buyala-Kikubamutwe for comparative purposes. This monitoring survey No. 12 undertaken between 25th and 30th April 2013 is the third one to be conducted after completion of construction of Bujagali Hydropower Dam. Two pre-construction baseline surveys in April 2000 and April 2006 were conducted and during construction phase, eight monitoring surveys (September 2007, April 2008, April 2009, October 2009, April 2010, September 2010, April 2011, September 2011) were conducted. Since 2009 biannual monitoring surveys have been conducted at an upstream and a downstream transect of the BHPP with emphasis on the following aspects: water quality determinants, biology and ecology of fishes and food webs, fish stock and fish catch including economic aspects of catch and sanitation/vector studies (bilharzias and river blindness). In the post-construction monitoring surveys, the assessments of algae, zooplankton and benthic macro-invertebrates which had been restrained since April 2008 were also included.