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Water Management in the Upper Catchment of the Kuiseb River Basin

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Water Management in the Upper Catchment of the Kuiseb River Basin Water Management in the Upper Catchment of the Kuiseb River Basin Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Interactive Qualifying Project Erin Hicks Justin Johnson Michael Torilli Water Management in the Upper Catchment of the Kuiseb River Basin An Interactive Qualifying Project Report submitted to the Faculty of WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science by _____________________ Erin Hicks ____________________ Justin Johnson ____________________ Michael Torilli Date: Friday, 2 May, 2003 Report Submitted to: ___________________ Prof. Creighton Peet ___________________ Prof. Stephen Pierson Dr. Mary Seely, The Desert Research Foundation of Namibia André Botes, The Environmental Learning and Action in the Kuiseb Project i Abstract This study, prepared for the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia, investigated water management practiced by the commercial farmers in the upper Kuiseb River Basin. These stakeholders have faced complaints that their farm dams negatively impact downstream users. Our goal was to assess water management tactics on these farms to develop recommendations for all stakeholders to improve water management and conduct further research. Our data indicate that farm dams contribute to local groundwater recharge and provide an important surface water source and that the water they retain does not significantly impact downstream users. ii Authorship All chapters, unless otherwise noted, were jointly written by Erin Hicks, Justin Johnson and Michael Torilli. Background: Erin Hicks: Sections 2.4, 2.5 Justin Johnson: Sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.5.2 Michael Torilli: Sections 2.2, 2.3 Appendices: Erin Hicks: Appendices B, C, D Justin Johnson: Appendices A, E, F Michael Torilli: Appendices A, C, E iii Acknowledgements We would like to thank: Sponsors: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (DRFN), the Environmental Learning and Action in the Kuiseb Project (ELAK), and the Polytechnic of Nambia for making this opportunity possible. Liasons and Advisors: Dr. Mary Seely and André Botes for their invaluable input, support, and patience with our work and us. Professor Creighton Peet and Professor Steve Pierson for endless comments towards improving our project to its fullest potential Information Resources: Frank Wittneben and Aubrey Van Wyk from the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Rural Development for their assistance in our site selection and farmer relations. Olivier Horsthemke at the Namibian Agricultural Union for his recommendation supporting our research. Guido van Langenhove of the Namibian Department of Water Affairs and Dr. Jürgen Kirchner, president of the Hydrogeological Association of Namibia, for their information concerning the geology and hydrogeology of the Kuiseb River Basin. John Olszewski for his knowledge and data concerning rainfall in Namibia and the Kuiseb River Basin. Nadia Manning for her added experience and expertise working on the ELAK project. Additional Thanks: All of the DRFN employees for aiding us in our research and the day-to-day operations of our project. All the commercial farmers we surveyed, or spoke with, for their cooperation and information. Mbahupu Tjivikua and the staff at the Polytechnic of Namibia for making our experience in Namibia amazing. Without help from these individuals, our project would not have been possible. iv Table of Contents____________________________________________ Title Page ...................................................................................................................... ii Abstract ......................................................................................................................... ii Authorship ...................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... v List of Figures ............................................................................................................. vii Executive Summary .................................................................................................... ix 1.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Background ...................................................................................................... 5 2.1.0 Characteristics of Arid Regions .............................................................. 5 2.1.1 Climate .................................................................................................. 6 2.1.2 Physical Conditions ............................................................................ 12 2.1.3 Water Sources .................................................................................... 18 2.2.0 Stakeholders and their Water Usage.................................................... 19 2.2.1 Government ........................................................................................ 19 2.2.2 Industry ............................................................................................... 22 2.2.3 Domestic Users ................................................................................... 23 2.2.4 Agricultural Users .............................................................................. 27 2.3.0 Water Policy in Namibia ....................................................................... 28 2.3.1 Act 54 of 1956 ..................................................................................... 29 2.3.2 Draft Water Bill ................................................................................. 30 2.3.3 Policies, acts, and government bodies .............................................. 32 2.3.4 Regional Comparison ........................................................................ 35 2.4.0 Water Management Schemes................................................................ 38 2.4.1 Non-sustainable Technologies and their History ............................ 38 2.4.2 Sustainable Technologies................................................................... 43 2.5.0 The Roles of Capacity Building and Conflict Resolution in Water Management ........................................................................................................... 45 2.5.1 Capacity Building............................................................................... 46 2.5.2 Conflict Resolution............................................................................. 48 3.0 Methods ........................................................................................................... 51 3.1 Research Objectives ................................................................................... 51 3.2 Data Analysis .............................................................................................. 57 3.3 Recommendations ...................................................................................... 59 4.0 Results and Analysis ...................................................................................... 61 4.1 Factors Affecting Water Infrastructure on Commercial Farms ........... 62 4.2 Water Conservation and Dam Maintenance Efforts .............................. 71 4.3 Effects of Water Infrastructure and Possible Causes for Groundwater Shortages ................................................................................................................. 72 4.4 Recommendations to Commercial Farmers ............................................ 75 4.5 Limitations of Our Study .......................................................................... 78 5.0 Conclusions & Recommendations ................................................................ 81 5.1 Conclusions ................................................................................................. 81 5.2 Recommendations ...................................................................................... 82 References ................................................................................................................... 89 v Appendices……………………………………………………………………..……..95 Appendix A: Interview Protocol ........................................................................... 95 Appendix B: Farm Database............................................................................... 104 Appendix C: Additional Comments ................................................................... 112 Appendix D: Other Charts .................................................................................. 116 Appendix E: Geographic Information System (GIS) Maps ............................. 122 Appendix F: Rainfall Data for Selected Farms ................................................. 148 Appendix G: Brochure of Findings ................................................................. 1601 vi List of Figures______________________________________________ Figure 2.1: Water consumption rates in the KRB ........................................................ 22 Figure 4.1: Sample Size ............................................................................................... 61 Figure 4.2: Average number of active dams and boreholes per farm type .................. 62 Figure 4.3: Average number of active
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