Stephenson, David

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Article, Published VersionStephenson, DavidSouthern africa: Will it be possible to achieve internationalwater sharing?HydrolinkVerfügbar unter/Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11970/109301Vorgeschlagene Zitierweise/Suggested citation:Stephenson, David (2015): Southern africa: Will it be possible to achieve international watersharing?. In: Hydrolink 2015/4. Madrid: International Association for Hydro-EnvironmentEngineering and Research (IAHR). S. 120-121. https://iahr.oss-accelerate.aliyuncs.com/library/HydroLink/HydroLink2015_04_Africa.pdf.Standardnutzungsbedingungen/Terms of Use:Die Dokumente in HENRY stehen unter der Creative Commons Lizenz CC BY 4.0, sofern keine abweichendenNutzungsbedingungen getroffen wurden. Damit ist sowohl die kommerzielle Nutzung als auch das Teilen, dieWeiterbearbeitung und Speicherung erlaubt. Das Verwenden und das Bearbeiten stehen unter der Bedingung derNamensnennung. Im Einzelfall kann eine restriktivere Lizenz gelten; dann gelten abweichend von den obigenNutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte.Documents in HENRY are made available under the Creative Commons License CC BY 4.0, if no other license isapplicable. Under CC BY 4.0 commercial use and sharing, remixing, transforming, and building upon the materialof the work is permitted. In some cases a different, more restrictive license may apply; if applicable the terms ofthe restrictive license will be binding.120 hydrolink number 4/2015Most interest is at present focused on theOrange River, which rises in Lesotho where it iscalled the Senqu River. The mean annual runoffof the Orange River is 12 000 Mm3/yr (millioncubic meters by year). Although guides as tosharing were originally related to theHelsinki/Berlin rules, a new set of guides wasdeveloped under the auspices of SADC.Agreements were signed between countries insome cases and protocols established.International agencies including EU, GTZ andthe World Bank have maintained interest insetting up management guidelines.SOUTH AFRICA (SA) has the highestdemands for water in the region, for urban,mining and agricultural uses. It has rights to useof water from international rivers, especially theOrange River. It has plans to draw 1 400 Mm3/yrfrom Lesotho and a further 7 000 Mm3/yr forirrigation from the Orange River. A treatybetween the two countries exists enabling SA touse this amount of water, but with othercountries clambering for water this may have tobe re-looked at. LESOTHO has surplus water from itsHighlands. The runoff from Lesotho includingthe Senqu river is 5 000Mm3/yr.  South Africa drawswater from the Katse andMohale Dams in the mountainkingdom of Lesotho at anelevation 2 000 meters abovesea level (masl). It is nowplanning another dam, thePolihali, to supplement thosedams. South Africa will financefurther developments to a largeextent, whereas previousdevelopments were funded byinternational organizations likeWorld Bank. South Africa also utilizes runofffrom Lesotho to the OrangeRiver. The bulk of that flow isused for irrigation. There arehuge “losses” from theirrigation system, and environ-mental releases are proposedto improve the river eco system. South Africaalready claims there is a shortfall of water for itspurposes if environmental releases areincreased in line with an upgrade of the riverstatus.  BOTSWANA is the most desperate to getwater. It shares the Zambezi, the Limpopo andOrange Rivers. But agreements have to bereached as to how much water it is entitled tofrom those international rivers. It is experiencingSouthern Africa is the most dynamic zone on the African continent and sharing of resources is oneof the aims of Southern African Development Community (SADC). Most countries in southern Africashare common major rivers i.e. the Zambezi, the Limpopo and the Orange. There is enough waterto go around but country interests could interfere with sharing for equitable use. Katse dam in Lesotho at an altitude of 2000 masl. Zambezi river at Victoria FallsSOUTHERN AFRICA: WILL IT BE ACHIEVE INTERNATIONAL WATEBY DAVID STEPHENSONAFRICA               SPECIAL121hydrolink number 4/2015ZIMBABWE has access to the biggest river inthe region, the Zambezi. But the river is to thenorth of these countries and 1 000 km of pipeis needed to reach Gaborone, the economiccentre of Botswana. MOZAMBIQUE suffers floods and droughtsmore severely than its geographic settingwarrants. When there is a flood in the Zambezi,or Limpopo or other rives crossing borders intothe country, its low lying plains suffer the most.And when there is drought in the region, watersare held back in dams in the countries to thewest.SADC - has established River BasinCommissions in attempt to reconcilemanagement of the communal rivers. Water infrastructureThe series of dams in Lesotho, intended tosupply South Africa, includes Katse, Mohale,Muela and soon Polihali. An extensive series oftunnels over 100 km in length leads from theHighlands to South Africa, in particularJohannesburg and Gauteng province. The biggest water pipelines are in Botswana.a drought at present, and as shown in thephotograph, the main supply dam is empty. Botswana, strangely, realizes that water directlyfrom Lesotho would be more economic thanfrom the Chobe/Zambezi River confluence onits northern border, and indeed from its owndams 400 km to the north of the capital city ofGaborone. A scheme to dam water in rivers onthe west of Lesotho and pump into riversflowing north-west through the Freestate in SAis being considered. Initially water may betaken from the Highlands scheme.  This ideawill cause consternation amongst the countriesinvolved. Existing treaties are threatened andusage in SA will be affected. NAMIBIA is the most arid of the countries. Itcould theoretically tap the Okovango Riverwhich brings water from Angola’s highlands tothe Okovango delta in Botswana. That waterflows into an environmentally sensitive site, andit is 700 km from the Capital city of Windhoek.The alternative is the Orange River to the south.Negotiations with South Africa to construct adam on the Orange at Vioolsdrift areproceeding. IAHRGaborone dam empty NSC Pipeline to convey water to Gaborone POSSIBLE TO ER SHARING?David Stephenson is a civil engineer basedin Botswana. He is a consultant toGovernments and industry on water supplyand hydraulic structures. He was the leadconsultant on the Lesotho Botswana WaterTransfer Study. He conducted the hydraulicdesign for the North South Carrier pipeline.He was a professor at the University ofWitwatersrand, and visiting professor inTokyo, Stuttgart and McMaster. He is theauthor of 11 books and over 200 technicalpapers. He represents Africa on the IAHRCouncil.Indicator Phase IA Phase IB Phase IIName Katse Dam Mohale Dam Polihali DamDam height (m) 185 145 182Power generation (MW) 110  at ‘Muela N/A Yes separateWater transfer capacity (m³/s) 17 10Transfer tunnels Yes to ‘Muela Yes to Katse Yes to KatseThe North South Carrier I is 360 km long and upto 1.4 m diameter. It is made of GRP in placesand steel in other places with higher pressures.There are 4 pumping stations along the line.The pipeline brings water from Letsibogo damand Dikgathlong dam on the Shashe Rivernorth of Gaborone. North South Carrier II is atpresent under construction, also to supplyGaborone and towns and mines along the way.North South Carrier III has been mooted, but islikely to be supplanted by the LHBWT (LesothoHighlands Botswana Water Transfer)comprising pipeline and rivers. Botswana’s expenditure on water infrastructureis the highest per capita in the region. With apopulation of 2 million people it relies heavily on diamond mining for its wealth. Theresulting high cost of water is borne largely bythe State. nTable with existing dams in Lesotho (Phase 1), and proposed (Phase 2). 

Southern africa: Will it be possible to achieve international water sharing?

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Southern africa: Will it be possible to achieve international water sharing?

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