Assessment of runoff managment practices towards the control of road erosion in Rukungiri municipality, Rukungiri district.

Abstract

Surface runoff has greatly increased due to the development of infrastructure as a result of urbanization, thus damaging the roads among others in many towns. Large quantities of surface runoff can cause erosion, damage infrastructure and degrade ecosystems. There are limited studies on how surface runoff impact on different infrastructure in urban areas in Uganda. Therefore, the main objective was to contribute to the understanding on how surface runoff contributes to erosion of roads to serve as a basis for informing improved management practices of surface runoff in Rukungiri municipality, Rukungiri district. Both qualitative and quantitative approach were employed in data collection using households and road side business premises as the sampling units. Questionnaires with open and closed ended questions will were directly (face to face) administered to the respondents. This was done to obtain data on the direct and indirect effects associated with surface runoff, which puts the lives of people at risk. The study showed that most of the respondents (98.3%) were in agreement that surface runoff was a major cause of road erosion. Results on effects of surface runoff indicated that, a total of 42.2% of respondents perceive road accidents as a major risk associated with surface runoff. The study revealed that most of respondents (60%) disagreed that the responsible authorities have done enough to manage roads from surface runoff. Only 31.7% of the respondents agreed that the responsible authorities had done enough in the management of roads from surface runoff. It is recommended that there is urgent need for local authorities to adopt diversified strategies including installing culverts, constructing and upgrading drainage channels to allow the safe flow of surface runoff on the urban roads.