Analysis of the Hydrological Regime of the Congo River in Brazzaville and Its Impact on Navigation

Our study consists of analyzing the hydrological behavior of the Congo River to detect the anomalies observed which have negatively impacted navigation for several years. The databases of the Research Institute for Development (RID) and the Excel files of the Joint Waterway Maintenance Service (JWMS) were used, namely (IL Consulting Engineers in Study for the dredging of Brazzaville-Hydraulic study report. FED, 2006) for different parameters: (i) daily water heights from 1972 to 2006; (ii) monthly discharges from 1902 to 2005; (iii) water levels from 1953 to 1995; (iv) gauging results from 1982 to 1994. These results reflect the degradation of the hydrological behavior of this arm of the Congolese river on the right bank, with negative consequences on navigation. The negative consequences of this phenomenon require preventive dredging. In addition, studies should be carried out to help promote a significant inflow of water in the main channel which runs alongside the port of Brazzaville during low flow.