Water Storages Dwindle Despite Heavy Rains

By Maranyane Ngwanaamotho
Staff Writer | Monday January 25, 2010 00:00

 

The situation is worrisome as Gaborone Dam can barely drought-proof the Greater Gaborone area for 19 months - without more water flowing into it.

The Greater Gaborone area includes Gaborone City, Lobatse,  Mogoditshane cluster (Mogoditshane, Ledumadumane, Metsimotlhabe, Mmopane, Gabane) Ramotswa and its satellite villages and Mochudi.

Water Utilities Corporation Communications and public relations manager matilda mmipi, said increased evaporation and bad consumption patterns are the major culprits. She said the location of the dams also determines how much water they receive.

'It should rain in the right areas for these dams to collect water.  It can rain in Gaborone but water will not necessarily collect, unless it rains in the catchment areas which are south to south-west of the city including Lobatse, Molapowabojang and Mogobane among others,' she said. She warned that since people cannot control the rain pattern, it is important that everyone play their part in conserving water.

She warned that even the projected number of months could drastically be reduced if consumption should increase. 'We cannot say we are safe. Botswana is a desert, water evaporates quickly and if we do not conserve it we could run into problems soon,' she said.

Mmipi said that while some water went into the dams when rains started in September, the dams soon lost the water due to normal consumption and evaporation.

Levels supplied by Mmipi's office this week showed dam levels either remained static or were dwindling. Gaborone, with a cpacity 141 million cubic metres  (MCM) stood at 58 percent.

This is down from 59 percent at the beginning of January; Molatedi, with a 201 MCM capacity stood at a constant 33 percent, having last registered the same on January 5, 2010; Bokaa Dam (18.5 MCM) lost two percent to 66 during the period January 5, 2009 and January 19, 2010; Nnywaane (2.3 MCM) steadily decreased from 75 to 74 and currently stands at 73 percent over the same period; Letsibogo, with a 100 MCM capacity saw two percent decline over a 12 day period - January 05, 2010 to January 19, 2010; Shashe dam ( 85.0 MCM) registered a one percent decline to stand at 89 percent over the same period while Ntimbale (26.5 MCM) stood at a constant 93 percent.
Local and International weather bureaus have forecast heavy rainfall in all major catchment areas for this week.