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The water crisis in Gaborone : investigating the underlying factors resulting in the ‘failure’ of the Gaborone Dam, Botswana

Farrington, Elisabeth LU (2015) In Student thesis series INES NGEK01 20151
Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
Abstract
Botswana is an arid country endemic to drought. The major water supply in the capital Gaborone, the Gaborone Reservoir, has received a failed status early this year due to diminishing water levels which have fallen below six percent of the total potential volume in 2014. However, there seems to be no official consensus as to what has caused this extreme decrease in volume. Water scarcity can have great impacts in regards to the economy, development and national security of a country and it is important to grasp the cause of the problem in order to solve it in the most efficient way. By analysing data time series for temperature, rainfall and consumption as well as performing a spatial analysis over the catchment area it was possible to... (More)
Botswana is an arid country endemic to drought. The major water supply in the capital Gaborone, the Gaborone Reservoir, has received a failed status early this year due to diminishing water levels which have fallen below six percent of the total potential volume in 2014. However, there seems to be no official consensus as to what has caused this extreme decrease in volume. Water scarcity can have great impacts in regards to the economy, development and national security of a country and it is important to grasp the cause of the problem in order to solve it in the most efficient way. By analysing data time series for temperature, rainfall and consumption as well as performing a spatial analysis over the catchment area it was possible to identify the changes that have occurred in the catchment area, the climate and the domestic consumption over the last decade. Poor data resolution and a lack of statistical significance mean that no concrete conclusions can be drawn. In order to sustain a sustainable water future, it is important that water conservation is promoted and that the second phase of the North South Water Carrier Project (with the purpose of pumping water from reservoirs in eastern Botswana and South Africa to Gaborone) keeps to the original timeline and fixes the faults within the pipeline.
Keywords: Gaborone Reservoir, drought, catchment area, climate change, consumption (Less)
Popular Abstract (Swedish)
Torka är mycket vanligt i Botswana. I huvudstaden Gaborone har Gaboronedammen klassats som ett misslyckande eftersom vattennivån har sjunkit till under sex procent av den potentiella volymen under 2014. Det finns inte någon officiell enighet om vad som har orsakat denna extrema volymminskning. Vattenbrist kan ha negativa konsekvenser för ett lands ekonomi, utveckling och till och med för den nationella säkerheten eftersom grannländer ofta tycker olika när det gäller vem som ska få utnyttja delade vattendrag. Det är viktigt att förstå orsaken till volymminskningen för att lösa problemet på bästa och effektivaste sätt. Under studien har både en rumslig analys och en analys av tidsserier för data gälande nederbörd, temperatur och konsumtion... (More)
Torka är mycket vanligt i Botswana. I huvudstaden Gaborone har Gaboronedammen klassats som ett misslyckande eftersom vattennivån har sjunkit till under sex procent av den potentiella volymen under 2014. Det finns inte någon officiell enighet om vad som har orsakat denna extrema volymminskning. Vattenbrist kan ha negativa konsekvenser för ett lands ekonomi, utveckling och till och med för den nationella säkerheten eftersom grannländer ofta tycker olika när det gäller vem som ska få utnyttja delade vattendrag. Det är viktigt att förstå orsaken till volymminskningen för att lösa problemet på bästa och effektivaste sätt. Under studien har både en rumslig analys och en analys av tidsserier för data gälande nederbörd, temperatur och konsumtion genomförts. Detta har gjort det möjligt att se vilka förändringar som har skett sedan Gaboronedammen konstruerades 1965. På grund av brister i dataupplösning och trender utan statistisk signifikans så går det inte att dra några slutsatser. För att uppnå en hållbar vattentillgänglighet i Gaborone i framtiden så är det väsentligt att vattenvård främjas och att vattenförsörjning till Gaborone från Gaboronedammen kompletteras med pålitlig vattentillförsel från andra dammar i Botswana, dvs. NSCWP rörledningarna lagas och underhålls.
Nyckelord: Gaboronedammen, torka, dräneringsområde, klimatförändring, konsumtion (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Farrington, Elisabeth LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Vattenkris i Gaborone : en undersökning av faktorer som har orsakat vattenförlust i Gaborone dammen i Botswana
course
NGEK01 20151
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
consumption, climate change, catchment area, drought, Gaborone Reservoir
publication/series
Student thesis series INES
report number
340
language
English
id
7861807
date added to LUP
2015-09-08 15:54:35
date last changed
2015-09-08 15:54:35
@misc{7861807,
  abstract     = {{Botswana is an arid country endemic to drought. The major water supply in the capital Gaborone, the Gaborone Reservoir, has received a failed status early this year due to diminishing water levels which have fallen below six percent of the total potential volume in 2014. However, there seems to be no official consensus as to what has caused this extreme decrease in volume. Water scarcity can have great impacts in regards to the economy, development and national security of a country and it is important to grasp the cause of the problem in order to solve it in the most efficient way. By analysing data time series for temperature, rainfall and consumption as well as performing a spatial analysis over the catchment area it was possible to identify the changes that have occurred in the catchment area, the climate and the domestic consumption over the last decade. Poor data resolution and a lack of statistical significance mean that no concrete conclusions can be drawn. In order to sustain a sustainable water future, it is important that water conservation is promoted and that the second phase of the North South Water Carrier Project (with the purpose of pumping water from reservoirs in eastern Botswana and South Africa to Gaborone) keeps to the original timeline and fixes the faults within the pipeline.
Keywords: Gaborone Reservoir, drought, catchment area, climate change, consumption}},
  author       = {{Farrington, Elisabeth}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  series       = {{Student thesis series INES}},
  title        = {{The water crisis in Gaborone : investigating the underlying factors resulting in the ‘failure’ of the Gaborone Dam, Botswana}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}