Hopes dashed for Gaborone Dam

Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Wednesday January 14, 2015 16:47

 

“For Gaborone Dam to fill up to 100 percent, we need very heavy pours,” he said.

“The rain we are having could not even fill half of the dam. It is highly unlikely that the dam will fill up as we are expecting a dry end to the rainy season.”

According to Mmolotsi, the southern and eastern regions, which include Gaborone Dam, will experience normal to below normal rains for the rest of the rainy season. Northern regions such as Ngamiland, Chobe, Gantsi and parts of the Central Districts are also expected to receive normal to below normal rainfall, while the southwest and southern parts, which include Kgalagadi and Southern district, are expected to receive normal to above normal rains. 

Last October, then Met Services director, Thabang Botshoma, dashed hopes of early relief for the 500,000 or so residents of Greater Gaborone when he unveiled the 2014/15 seasonal rainfall forecast indicating mixed fortunes for the southern and eastern regions.

“The last rainfall season was a good one for most of Botswana, but we all know very well the Gaborone Dam story and what happened in terms of rainfall over the south-eastern parts of the country,” Botshoma said at the time. Gaborone Dam officially failed (ran dry) in December, after the Water Utilities Corporation announced that the level of the waters was below its ability to pump supplies.