Water resources

[Anonymous].  Submitted.  Assessment report Gottenburg village.

Gottenburg is located about ten (10) kilometres on the north-eastern side of Hluvukani. This village shares a name with two other neighbouring villages, Thlavekisa and Hlalakahle known as Gottenburg B and C respectively. These are the names used by the department of Agriculture whereas the local municipality uses the local names. Thlavekisa is on the west of Gottenburg and is not in Ward 16 while Hlalakahle is located on the north side.

Initial contact with the village is made through the village Induna (head-man) and the chairperson of the village CDF (Community Development Forum). A meeting was held with these two structures to introduce the SWELL (Securing Water to Enhance Local Livelihoods) concept and to highlight the intention of carrying out an assessment process in the village. It was agreed that the process can take place, a date for the assessment was set and the CDF together with the Induna began inviting villagers to and making arrangements for a meeting that was held at a local school. It was during school vacations so the process did not interfere with school programmes. [authors abstract]

This report is a part of  : “South Africa - Access to water and livelihoods in Ward 16, Bushbuckridge”

[Anonymous].  Submitted.  Assessment report Dixie village.

Dixie is located on the most southern part of Ward 16, approximately forty (40) kilometres east of Acornhoek and about twenty (20) kilometres east of Hluvukani. It is flanked on one side by the Manyeleti Game Reserve, which is a government-run nature conservation reserve, and on the other by a privately-run game farm, the Sabie Sand Game Reserve. It is at the end of one long, straight stretch of road that extends from Athol (another village in Ward 16), passes outside Seville B and next to Utah – both are villages in Ward 16.

Dixie is only about 3 km away from its neighbouring village, Utah.

It had been decided by the village leaders that the meeting was to be held at the crèche. Some team members were not happy with the arrangement, citing that it would be breaking the law if this meeting was going to affect the children who attended school. It was then decided that the venue be changed and moved the meeting to the Induna’s kraal. [authors abstract]

This report is a part of  : “South Africa - Access to water and livelihoods in Ward 16, Bushbuckridge”

[Anonymous].  Submitted.  Assessment report Delani village.

Delani is a very small village, situated about six (06) kilometres just outside of Hluvukani village. These two villages also share a name, Eglington C and B, respectively. Eglington A is not part of Ward 16.

Initial contact with the village is made through the villageInduna(head-man) and the chairperson of the village CDF (Community Development Forum). A meeting was held with these two structures to introduce the Securing Water to Enhance Local Livelihood (SWELL) concept and to highlight the intention of carrying out an assessment process in the village. It was agreed that the process can take place, a date for the assessment was set and the CDF together with theIndunabegan inviting villagers to and making arrangements for a meeting that was held at a local school. It was during school vacations so the process did not interfere with school programmes.

The Traditional Authority was represented by the village IndunaThe presence of the Induna means a lot to these kinds of processes since there is a tendency by either the Traditional Authority or Local governance (the CDF in particular) to not attend when the other either of the two present. [authors abstract]

This report is a part of  : “South Africa - Access to water and livelihoods in Ward 16, Bushbuckridge”

Cousins T, Chauke SSmits and.  Submitted.   South Africa - Access to water and livelihoods in ward 16, Bushbuckridge.

Over the past years, the NGO AWARD (Association for Water and Rural Development) has been working on a programme entitled SWELL (Securing Water to Enhance Local Livelihoods) in ward 16 of the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, South Africa. The aim of the programme is to develop an approach for integrated planning of rural water services to enhance people’s livelihoods, especially of the poorest and most vulnerable groups in the communities. This report aims to provide insight into the current role of water in people’s livelihoods and especially how that is shaped by access to water.

The report shows that at first sight typical water-based activities, such as gardening, livestock or small business, are not the main source of livelihood for the people in the area. However, they do play a crucial role in diversifying and reducing vulnerability and dependency on other sources of livelihood. They also do provide important nutritious food and cash to the poorer households.

The extent to which these livelihoods activities can be undertaken depends to a large extent on access to water. Whereas in the area access to water resources is not a major limiting factor, the current infrastructure and its management is. Poor design, operation and maintenance result in frequent break-downs and unreliable supply. As a result people curtail or delay their productive activities. But they are also affected in other aspects of their livelihoods, especially time spent on water collection. As coping strategies they may have to go to neighbouring villages to collect water, buy expensive water from private vendors or store water at household level. The poorest and most vulnerable groups lack the assets to deal with these stresses.

Main recommendations include a number of strategies to improve immediate access to water, especially through clarifying institutional roles and responsibilities and developing operation and maintenance plans. In addition, recommendations are given to integrated planning for multiple uses. Understanding livelihoods, especially of the poorest people and households, is crucial in this.

A full synthesis report can be downloaded here, as well as short summary reports of the villages where the assessments were done.

[Anonymous].  Submitted.  Limpopo general - relevance of multiple uses of water for the SADC region : session report.

At the 7th WaterNet/WARFSA/GWP-SA Symposium, held in Lilongwe, Malawi from 1-3 November 2006, the MUS project hosted a special session on multiple uses of water. A background paper to the session was prepared. This paper introduces the mus concept and its framework. It goes into detail on the relevance of mus for the SADC region, specially looking into issues of relevance for researchers. A short report of the session is also available.

Smits S, Cousins T, Dlamini V, van Koppen EGuzha and.  Submitted.  Limpopo general - relevance of multiple uses of water for the SADC region.

At the 7th WaterNet/WARFSA/GWP-SA Symposium, held in Lilongwe, Malawi from 1-3 November 2006, the MUS project hosted a special session on multiple uses of water. A background paper to the session was prepared. This paper introduces the mus concept and its framework. It goes into detail on the relevance of mus for the SADC region, specially looking into issues of relevance for researchers. A short report of the session is also available.

[Anonymous].  Submitted.  Water harvesting ponds and shallow wells in Tigray Region .

Site - Tigray: Water harvesting ponds and shallow wells

The main objectives for the construction of water harvesting ponds in Ethiopia are:

  • To harvest water needed to meet household domestic needs (including livestock);
  • To provide supplementary irrigation to long rain season cereal crops mainly during the drier months of September and October;
  • To provide full irrigation to crops during the dry months of the year.

In Tigray only, the goal is to construct 500,000 ponds in the next years. The target for the year 2003 was to construct 40,000 ponds, 80% made with plastic liners and the rest with clay lining. About 30,600 were actually built. The target for the fiscal year 2004 was 160,000; 23,300 of which were built up to July 2004. The individual household pond is characterized by its catchment the pond itself and the command area; all managed at house hold level. The great advantage of this storage system is the relatively simple social operation and maintenance structure in relation to communal ponds.

Water is directly harvested by runoff or taken from a gully or stream with a diversion structure and stored in a pond to be used when required. The ponds have a square shape, usually 12x12m with internal slope of 1.5-2:1 and a capacity between 30 and 182 m3. Other sizes and shapes are being tested, e.g. 25x25 m with stepped sides. The ponds usually have complementary structures such as feeder canals, access stairs but often do not have a spillway and water lifting is done by bucket. Some of the ponds are fenced but most are not. The location of the pond near the house has been justified by the expectation that this will enable close management by family members and reduce the burden on the already busy daily schedule.

According to an EU Evaluation Report, there is a lot of potential in the region for shallow wells. The Tigray Regional Government is therefore strongly committed to promote the construction of shallow wells, the three-year action plan provide the construction of 8,200 shallow wells (3,000 in 2004). Until June 2004, 931 shallow wells have been dug. Decisions on the dimensions of the well are taken by the farmers. In the majority of cases the farmer digs the well himself with the support of his family. Depth of the well depends on the water table, on average 8 meters deep in the plateau and 15 meters in the highland. The well wall is lined with stones to waterproof it, but usually they are not covered and have no fence; this can be very dangerous and some incidents have already happened. The water is collected with a bucket on a rope; this method is cheap but at the same time dangerous and hard, especially if water has to be transported to the field. In order to improve irrigation techniques in one Woreda (administrative unit), 18 motor pumps are now available and farmers can rent them for 10 birr/day plus fuel price. This solution cannot be considered very practical as farmers consider the renting price too high and because there are not enough motor pumps available.

Several studies have been done on water harvesting ponds and shallow wells in Tigray, mainly by MSc and BSc students from Mekelle University, such as:

- Gebreegziabher Lemma Hagos (Dec05) The role of household ponds on the expansion of homegardens in Tigray, Ethiopia. MSc thesis Mekelle University

de Vries F.W.TPenning, Bhumiwatana SRuaysoongn.  Submitted.  Pond size, farming style and multiple uses.

The optimal size of farm ponds in N.E. Thailand with respect to farming style and multiple uses of water and under various biophysical and socio-economic conditions

[Anonymous].  Submitted.  Microcuenca de la Quebrada El Chocho, Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia.

Este es el tercer caso estudiado por los miembros de la Alianza de Aprendizaje del Valle del Cauca y busca dar una mirada al tema de los usos múltiples del agua a nivel de cuenca.

La microcuenca de la Quebrada El Chocho cuenta con un área cercana a las 2160 Ha y abastece una población de alrededor de 20.000 habitantes, a través de los acueductos de Lomitas, Golondrinas, El Pinar, Villa del Rosario, Montebello, Campoalegre y Las Palmas.

La región cuenta con grandes yacimientos carboníferos, zonas de pastos y rastrojos e importantes extensiones de tierra dedicadas a la ganadería. Adicionalmente se tienen predios de pequeña parcela destinados al cultivo de hortalizas y plantas aromáticas. Todas estas actividades ejercen presiones sobre la fuente, disminuyendo la disponibilidad de agua para uso múltiple.

La pregunta general a resolver por esta investigación es: Qué conflictos existen entre los diferentes usuarios que dependen de la Quebrada El Chocho, como fuente de abastecimiento para uso múltiple y qué mecanismos pueden adoptarse para su solución?

[Anonymous].  Submitted.  Procesos de planificación en la Cuenca del Rio Quindio.

La estudiante de maestría Paula Arias desarrolla este caso de estudio, que pretende identificar como incide sobre los sistemas de múltiples usos y múltiples fuentes, la planeación sectorial del recurso hídrico. Se estudiará el traslape existente entre instituciones, leyes, políticas y regulaciones en la cuenca del Río Quindío.

En la cuenca del río Quindío (que incluye varias municipalidades) existen varios problemas relacionados con la competencia por el acceso al agua entre las áreas urbanas y rurales (ej. Demanda de Armenia y otras poblaciones menores), y las aguas residuales generadas por las áreas urbanas y los procesos de transformación del café. La gestión ambiental y la promoción del turismo son también temas claves en la agenda de desarrollo local.

Existen diferentes procesos para planificar los cuales afectan el uso del agua y el desarrollo. Este estudio evaluará la interrelación entre las instituciones, leyes, políticas y regulaciones en la cuenca del río Quindío con referencia a los múltiples usos del agua y las múltiples fuentes. Abordará el tema de los usos múltiples desde la perspectiva de cuenca, más que desde la perspectiva de sistema o nivel.

La pregunta general a resolver por esta investigación es: Como la fragmentación existente en los procesos de planeación en la cuenca del río Quindío promueve conflictos y problemas en torno al uso múltiple del agua?

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