Kruger2Canyons.com

PRETORIA- Water levels along the Crocodile River in Mpumalanga are exceeding expectations because of the recent rainfalls in the province.

"Concerns that have been raised regarding low water flow levels in the Kruger National Park and adjoining areas are baseless," the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) said in a statement on Wednesday.

A two-day inspection at the site by a DWAF team found that the water flow from Kwena Dam right through the Crocodile River, past the Kruger National Park into Mozambique, was exceeding expectations.



The team was made up of the Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement (CME) Unit officials from Head Office in Pretoria and its Mpumalanga office based in Nelspruit.

The inspections were conducted on Tuesday, 24 April 2007 and concluded the next day.

DWAF's Mpumalanga Regional Director for Water Resources, Johan Van As Wegen, who was part of the team, said he was surprised that allegations about low water levels in the area were raised outside a recognised and "agreed upon" chamber, the Crocodile River Water Forum (CRWF).

Mr Van As Wegen described the move as "surprising".

One of the CRWF's tasks is to discuss issues such as the issues raised to warrant necessary investigations regarding the matter.

DWAF's water level monitoring process is up and running and is put into operation everyday to measure water flow levels. Water releases are monitored daily to ensure that there is enough water flows in the river.

The Department is in constant contact with all stakeholders, including members of the CRWF to discuss and find solutions to all matters of concern.

One of the major challenges facing the Department is dealing constantly with people contravening Section 21 of the National Water Act, 1998.

This section deals with people who illegal construct dams, weirs and other structures that impede water flow in the river.

Nigel Adams, head of the CME Unit said three possible unlawful activities were identified and are currently being investigated by the Mpumalanga CME Unit.

Labels: climate, crocodile bridge, hydrology

All three major rivers in the drought-hit Kruger Park dried up during Water Week last month, sparking a row between environmentalists, farmers and the department of water affairs.

Kruger spokesperson Raymond Travers confirmed last month that the Crocodile, Letaba and Olifants rivers stopped flowing “for short periods”. They were now flowing again, but slowly.



Environmentalists are questioning whether water is being properly managed and whether the Water Affairs Department is complying with its own Water Act.

The legislation makes provision for a reserve which gives precedence to water for basic human use and the environment, ensuring that rivers continue to flow. It is the only right to water in the Act.

Travers said that after the rivers stopped flowing, Kruger’s water management officials immediately contacted the water authorities, who restored flow to the rivers. River flow is controlled by gates which regulate how much water is let through, with the quantity decided by water use associations and other stakeholders, including the department.

However, some Kruger officials query whether the park’s rivers are getting their fair share and whether farmers downstream are not being unduly favoured.

“Why, after more than 10 years of the new Water Act, do water affairs officials not ensure that the only right to water, river flow, is met before all other users?” one official asked. “By law, users can only use what is ‘left over’ after the river gets its share.”

"It is now the end of summer and these rivers are supposed to be flowing well," said Head of the Park's Conservation Services Department, Dr Freek Venter.

Instead, the rivers are flowing at the rates at which they normally flow after winter, in September or October.

Dr Venter urged consumers who draw water from the rivers upstream, such as farmers, sugar companies and municipalities, to use water more sparingly.

"Water usage outside the boundaries of Kruger has a significant effect on what happens when the rivers eventually reach Kruger."

He said an example of good co-operation among all water users in a river system was found downstream of the Nyaka Dam.

A certain amount of the water available in this system was allocated to the Sabie and Sand rivers, which eventually flowed into the Kruger National Park.

"The Nyaka Dam is a classic win-win situation and we would hope that similar agreements can be made with other water users in the various catchment areas of the other rivers that flow into the park," Dr Venter said.

But Jurg Venter, head of the Letaba Water User Association, dismissed the claim, saying the drought was depriving everyone in the area of water. “Farmers are not the only users and they’re already heavily rationed,” he said. “Like other users, the Kruger Park simply has to do with less water. It’s great that the government wants to provide water to more users, but you also have to examine how many users a water resource can support, especially in dry periods.”

Department of Water Affairs and Forestry spokesperson Hilgard Matthews said the Water Act was not being enforced, adding that it was incorrect to say Kruger’s rivers had dried up. The park had experienced problems as water was flowing along alternative routes and had not reached the pumping sumps.

The past two months had seen an extremely dry weather spell with very high temperatures, causing major vapour transpiration and evaporation from all water surfaces.

“This is a natural phenomenon we can do nothing about,” he said. “These are stressed catchments where special efforts and challenges are encountered in distributing water fairly.”

Three years ago the department and South African National Parks almost landed in court when the Olifants River stopped flowing and water management officials were blamed for taking incorrect decisions. Kruger is understood to have received a slap on the wrist for taking on a fellow government department.

Kevin Rogers, director of the Centre for Water in the Environment at Wits University, warned that perennial rivers contained many animal and plant species that required flowing water all year round. “Stop the water from flowing and they die. Simple as that.”

He said that as river pools evaporated, fish become concentrated and easy prey for crocodiles, fish eagles, kingfishers and cormorants.

“Even more dramatic is the effect of hippos who feed on land at night and defecate in the pools by day,” he said. “The faeces build up and their decomposition uses up the oxygen in the water, killing aquatic species.”

Meanwhile, Kruger announced this week that it would soon implement water restrictions in its camps.

The previous time when water restrictions of this nature had to be implemented was three years ago. However some camps, relying on bore hole water, are out of danger.

Travers says "Our major problem with the situation now is that the water rainfall coming down are less than it use to be the water utilisation has stayed the same."

Visitors favour winter months to flock to the reserve and that is when rainfall decreases. Possible water restriction will not have an effect on visitor's normal water usage during busy times. One step to save water is for management to provide visitors with an option to have their used towels replaced once a week and not daily.

Travers told reporters said: "We will first target things like gardens, lawns and stop spraying with water. We will see the lawns and gardens becoming smaller and drier. The water board will decide within the next two weeks if water restrictions will be implemented."

Labels: conservation, hippos, hydrology, olifants