'Dam Levels Sustainable 'Till Next Rains'
Pini Bothoko | Tuesday November 23, 2021 06:00
WUC chief executive officer, Gaselemogwe Senai made the remarks when officiating the Corporation’s end of the year press conference that was recently held at Phakalane Golf Estate Hotel Resort.
Senai said as it is towards the end of the year, they are looking forward to more rains as predicted by the Department of Meteorological Services and they are optimistic that the current dam levels will be sustainable until another rainy season.
“We are optimistic that our current dam levels will last up to 12 months and more, as our dam levels remain in a very healthy state. The rains which fell at the beginning of this year, (in January and February 2021) resulted in the increased water levels,” he said.
Senai stated they closed the financial year ending March 31, 2021, with all dams except Gaborone and Molatedi having filled up. He stated that the total water under storage in the dams was 962.4 million cubic meters (MCM) representing 87% supply capacity compared with 718.5MCM with 65% capacity in March 2020.
“Dikgatlhong’s current water level stands at 83.6%, Thune Dam stands at 80.2%, Shashe at 79.9%, Letsibogo Dam at 77.8% while Ntimbale Dam stands at 75.6 % to mention but a few. Even if the country is currently blessed with relatively good rainy seasons, as the drought seems to have abated, people ought to always remember that Botswana is a drought-prone water-scarce country,” he said.
Senai added the country has endured periodic droughts, which resulted in the drying up of the Gaborone Dam in 2016. He said climate change is real, and it is should be everyone’s intention to demonstrate resilience through water resource management strategies. He stated that WUC has amongst other things adopted conjunctive use of water sources, enhancement and reinforcement of the robustness of the Gaborone infrastructure through the various North-South Carrier (NSC) 2 and 3 projects that have taken off across the city.
Moreover, he revealed that on the positive side, Botswana will continue to receive its full allocation from Molatedi Dam in line with the Tswana agreement, as the dam level is above the 33% threshold.
Senai added that groundwater resource remains finite and non-renewable, yet it is the main source of potable water supply for over 60% of the Botswana population. He disclosed that the Corporation also carries out rehabilitation of boreholes to improve water supply for villages with acute water supply challenges.
“Areas that are afflicted by extreme and pervasive water shortages are Rolong District, Macheng area, Molepolole and satellite villages, Boteti, North-East Tutume, Sowa-Dukwi, Tswapong South, and the Radisele cluster. There are other isolated villages with serious water shortages like Debete, Mahothwane, villages in the Serule cluster, and many other areas,” Senai said.