Small farm dams: A ticking time-bomb?

Abstract

Farm dams South Africa is heavily dependent on storage reservoirs to maintain reliable water supplies at times of water stress. Recent estimates suggest that the country already allocates over 98% of its available water resources and that many storage reservoirs are accumulating sediment at a pace that may make water provision at current rates unsustainable. Across South Africa a plethora of small farm dams and reservoirs have also played an important role in the economic development and sustenance of rural areas – especially those regions with water deficits or prone to drought. Their role has been one of harvesting runoff to provide water for stock or for irrigation. While major dam projects have received much publicity and their historical significance is well documented, small farm dams have been neglected in the literature and their wider role in the landscape largely ignored. Sediment trapS The longest monitored sediment yield record in South Africa is from the lower Orange River.

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