HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) is an ongoing
water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...
project with a
hydropower Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...
component, developed in partnership between the governments of
Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...
and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. It comprises a system of several large
dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...
s and tunnels throughout
Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...
and delivers water to the Vaal River System in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. In Lesotho, it involves the rivers Malibamatso, Matsoku, Senqunyane, and Senqu. It is Africa's largest water transfer scheme. The purpose of the project is to provide Lesotho with a source of revenue in exchange for the provision of water to South Africa, as well as generate hydroelectricity for Lesotho. As of 2015, royalties paid by South Africa to the Lesotho government amount to R780 million, equivalent to about 5 percent of Lesotho's state income outside of taxes. The hydro-electric power has enabled Lesotho to become self-sufficient in electricity production, however criticisms have included loss of livelihoods for displaced people and ecological impacts.


History

Efforts to create a dam in the location were spearheaded by then
British High Commissioner In the Commonwealth of Nations, a high commissioner is the senior diplomat, generally ranking as an ambassador, in charge of the diplomatic mission of one Commonwealth government to another. Instead of an embassy, the diplomatic mission is genera ...
Sir Evelyn Baring in the 1950s, after initially being conceived by the South African civil engineer Ninham Shand while carrying out investigations commissioned by the British Government into the rivers of Lesotho. As initially conceived, the project was known as the Oxbow Scheme. After a
feasibility study A feasibility study is an assessment of the practicality of a project or system. A feasibility study aims to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats pr ...
was conducted between August 1983 and August 1986 by the German-British Lahmeyer MacDonald Consortium, the project eventually began to be realized. The project has been alleged to have had negative social and environmental effects. While compensation was provided in kind and paid to the few hundred households affected by the dams, there is criticism that it was insufficient. In recent years, water from the scheme has been discharged into the Mohokare (Caledon) river to provide water to
Maseru Maseru is the capital and largest city of Lesotho. It is also the capital of the Maseru District. Located on the Caledon River, Maseru lies directly on the Lesotho–South Africa border. Maseru had a population of 330,760 in the 2016 census. T ...
in times of critical shortages. The new dams have filled as anticipated and discharge of water from the dams into the downstream rivers continues in a scheme devised to preserve ecological balances. This discharged water flows to the Senqu (Orange) and while preserving the ecological ''status quo'' benefits only those communities along the rivers. The project has had an important impact on Lesotho's infrastructure, as hundreds of kilometers of engineered paved roads were built in order to improve access to the different construction sites, together with engineered unpaved 'feeder' roads around the dams. Since its inception, the project has been dogged by
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
which has resulted in a number of court cases involving both individuals and multinational corporations.


Project features

Below is an overview of the main features of the first three phases of the project.


Phase I

Phase of the project comprises all the essential components to impound water in the
Katse Dam The Katse Dam, a concrete arch dam on the Malibamat'so River in Lesotho, is Africa's second largest double-curvature arch dam after the Tekezé Dam in Ethiopia. Located just below the confluence of the Bokong River, which forms the western arm ...
, generate electricity and deliver water to the Vaal River System. Phase I has been carefully configured so that Katse Dam remains the common link to further phases identified during feasibility studies. In line with the phased approach, Phase I consists of Phase IA comprising the essential components, and Phase IB which enhances the yield of the project with the addition of two peripheral sources namely the Mohale Dam and the Matsoku Weir.


Phase IA

This phase of the project was completed in 1998. It consisted mainly of the construction of the Katse Dam on the Malibamat'so River in Lesotho. A transfer tunnel was built from the Katse Dam to the Muela Reservoir. The Muela Reservoir is considered to be the tail pond, which supplies hydroelectric power for Lesotho. Stemming from the Muela Reservoir is a delivery tunnel to the outfall at the
As River The As River is a tributary of the Liebenbergsvlei River in the eastern Free State (province), Free State, South Africa. Since 1968 it is impounded by the Sol Plaatje Dam (formerly: Saulspoort Dam) at its confluence with the latter river, just ...
from where water flows to the
Vaal Dam The Vaal Dam in South Africa was constructed in 1938 and lies 77 km south of OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg. The lake behind the dam wall has a surface area of about and is 47 meters deep. The Vaal Dam lies on the Vaal River ...
. Although the Katse Dam has power generation capability for local use, the primary purpose is as the storage
reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...
for Phase IA, and to provide discharge into the transfer tunnel. To mitigate loss of habitat, the Katse Botanical Gardens was established to house plants that were rescued from the area to be flooded.


Phase IB

This phase of the project was completed in 2002. It consisted mainly of the construction of: * The Mohale Dam, a very large rockfill dam, located on the Senqunyane River; * A transfer tunnel between the Mohale Dam and the Katse Dam; * Construction of the Matsoku Diversion Weir; * A tunnel from the Matsoku Diversion Weir to the Katse Dam. The system is interconnected in such a way that water may be transferred in either direction for storage in Mohale or ultimate transfer to South Africa through the Katse reservoir.


Phase II

*In 2005, an agreement between the Governments of South Africa and Lesotho was signed to proceed with feasibility studies; *In 2006, the feasibility study was commenced and completed in late 2008; *The agreement to implement Phase II was signed in Maseru on 11 August 2011; *The launch of Phase II construction took place at Tlokoeng on 27 March 2014. *The
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
caused construction to be delayed. Construction of diversion tunnels for the Polihali Dam did not start as planned in early 2020 The CEO of the LHWP implementing body of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA), Refiloe Tlali, said: "the 2.3-billion cubic metre Polihali dam will be built downstream of the confluence of the Senqu and Khubelu rivers. The dam will have a 163.5 m high concrete-faced rockfill embankment dam wall. The crest length will be 915 m, with a full supply level of 2,075 m above sea level. A 49.5 m high saddle dam and spillway will also be built." Upon completion phase 2 will enable over 400 million cubic metres of water to flow from Lesotho to the Vaal Dam and will move the total volume of water being transferred from Lesotho to South Africa to over 1.27 billion cubic metres per year. The Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority will raise most of the R40 billion required to complete phase 2. In August 2023, the ''Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority'' (TCTA) secured funding from the
New Development Bank The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). According to the agreement, "the bank shal ...
amounting to 3.2 billion South African rand (approx. US$172 million) to be applied to the continuation of Phase 2. This loan is in addition to US$86.72 million borrowed from the
African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB, also known as BAD in French) is a multilateral development finance institution, headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and ...
as well as funding from other sources. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor is a consortium comprising Salini Impregilo and ''Cooperativa Muratori Cementistri'' (CMC di Ravenna), both from Italy, ''CMI Infrastructure Company'' of South Africa and ''LSP Construction'' of Lesotho. Completion of phase 2 is expected in 2028.


Later phases

As initially conceived, three further dams were proposed further downstream after the Malibamatso joins the Senqu river, at Mashai, Tsoelike, and Ntoahae. In 2007, further studies resulted in a modification, proposing instead a dam on the Senqu, upstream from its confluence with the Malibamatso. This is currently the preferred extension of the scheme, although construction has not yet begun (as of November 2021).


See also

* Lesotho Highlands


References

{{Reflist


External links


Lesotho Highlands Development Authority



Lesotho Highlands Further Phases Feasibility Study
*Aicha Amouchi *Ryan Anton *Hoover van Ryij Dams in Lesotho Hydroelectricity in Lesotho Water in Lesotho Lesotho–South Africa relations Reservoirs in South Africa