The water crisis in Gaborone : investigating the underlying factors resulting in the ‘failure’ of the Gaborone Dam, Botswana

Abstract: Botswana is an arid country endemic to drought. The major water supply in the capital Gaborone, the Gaborone Reservoir, has received a failed status early this year due to diminishing water levels which have fallen below six percent of the total potential volume in 2014. However, there seems to be no official consensus as to what has caused this extreme decrease in volume. Water scarcity can have great impacts in regards to the economy, development and national security of a country and it is important to grasp the cause of the problem in order to solve it in the most efficient way. By analysing data time series for temperature, rainfall and consumption as well as performing a spatial analysis over the catchment area it was possible to identify the changes that have occurred in the catchment area, the climate and the domestic consumption over the last decade. Poor data resolution and a lack of statistical significance mean that no concrete conclusions can be drawn. In order to sustain a sustainable water future, it is important that water conservation is promoted and that the second phase of the North South Water Carrier Project (with the purpose of pumping water from reservoirs in eastern Botswana and South Africa to Gaborone) keeps to the original timeline and fixes the faults within the pipeline. Keywords: Gaborone Reservoir, drought, catchment area, climate change, consumption