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ICT-Based Identification and Characterisation of Small Reservoirs in the Limpopo River Basin in Zimbabwe

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Title ICT-Based Identification and Characterisation of Small Reservoirs in the Limpopo River Basin in Zimbabwe
 
Creator Mulengera, Patrick-M. Bahal’okwibale
Manzungu, Emmanuel
Kileshye Onema, Jean-Marie
 
Description Semi-arid conditions that prevail in the Limpopo basin in general and Zimbabwe in particular emphasise the
importance of water storage. In this respect small reservoirs play a critical role in sustaining rural livelihoods.
However, the management of small reservoirs in Zimbabwe is negatively affected by missing or poorly
coordinated information relating to such key attributes as location, capacity, and environmental condition. A
study was undertaken to identify and characterise small reservoirs in the Limpopo river basin in Zimbabwe. The
objective of the study was to identify small reservoirs and characterise them in terms of capacity, and
chlorophyll-a and turbidity indices, as proxies for measuring environmental degradation of catchments in which
these are located. The study was carried out in Gwanda district that is located in South West Zimbabwe.
Identification was done by processing Landsat TM 4-5 images of February-March and April-May 2009, using
Geographical Information Systems. Time and cost considerations were the main factors in the selection of the
technology and the images that were used. Field inspections were used to validate selected parameters from
February to April 2011. A total of 256 small reservoirs, with an estimated total capacity of 17 million m3, were
identified. The capacities of reservoirs were found to vary widely from around 4,000 m3 to over 650,000 m3.
About half (46%) of the small reservoirs were found to be dry by May, just two months after the end of the wet
season. Seven reservoirs, which represented 2% of the total number and 3% of the total capacity of reservoirs,
were characterised as highly turbid. Twenty-three reservoirs, representing 9% of the total number and 3% of the
total capacity of reservoirs, showed signs of environmental degradation in the catchments. The smallest
reservoirs were found to be most vulnerable to environmental degradation. The study concluded that Information
and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can successfully be used to identify and characterise small reservoirs in
the data-poor Limpopo basin in Zimbabwe, and can be used by decentralised water institutions and River Basin
Organisations (RBOs) to better manage available water resources for the benefit of rural communities found
therein.
 
Date 2012-08-15
2012-08-17T04:17:05Z
2012-08-17T04:17:05Z
 
Type Other
 
Identifier Patrick-M. Bahal’okwibale Mulengera1, 2, Emmanuel Manzungu3 & Jean Marie Kileshye Onema Department of Civil Engineering, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe Section des Sciences Exactes, Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de Walungu, Democratic Republic of the Congo Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe WaterNet, Harare, Zimbabwe
1927-0488
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/21588
PHASE 2
 
Language en
 
Relation Research Report
 
Rights Open Access
 
Format application/pdf
 
Publisher Canadian Center of Science and Education