Mpumalanga
Mpumalanga
Climate Change Information System
Climate Change Information System
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Water
Water
Risk and Vulnerability Assessment
Risk and Vulnerability Assessment
Background
Background
Mpumalanga province depend mainly on surface water resources to fulfill its water requirements
There are 26 main dams in the province with a storage volume of just under 2.6 billion m3
Important rivers systems include - the Vaal, Olifants, Nkomati, Crocodile and Usuthu Rivers
Mpumalanga also include 3 strategic water source areas – defined as high rainfall receiving and water provisioning areas These areas provide 50% of Mpumalanga's runoff in only 10.2% of surface area.
These areas are recognized as critically important ecological infrastructure areas within south Africa.
Agriculture sector in the province is the major water user, making up 55% of the total water use.
Commercial farms predominately abstract water from dams (26%), ground water (21%) and rivers (20%), while smallholder farms rely on harvested rainwater (48%), river (18%) and dam water (15%).
Vulnerabilities
Vulnerabilities
Water resources are stressed mainly due to climate change impacts, poor water management and poor water quality.
Poor water quality are caused by badly maintained sewage systems, mining activities and soil erosion from agricultural activities.
Water demand will continue to increase in Mpumalanga due to growing population, urbanization, increasing needs for irrigation and industrialization.
Invasive Alien Plants (IAP's) impact river flows and groundwater availability.
IAP's reduce riparian water yields in the Olifants River catchment by an estimated 50 million cubic meters per annum.
Source: Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency, Mpumalanga Sustainable Agriculture Market Intelligence Opportunity Brief, 2021
Climate Change Impacts
Climate Change Impacts
Expected rise in temperature will cause enhanced evapotranspiration and evaporation, which act to reduce catchment runoff and increase evaporation from dams;
Warming temperatures will also contribute to deteriorating water quality, as the risk of algal blooms increases;
Rainfall is also projected to become more intense, leading to flooding which affects the design capacity and operating characteristics of dams and other water infrastructure;
Reductions in annual precipitation will threaten, amongst others, the availability of water for irrigation and manufacturing;
Olifants River Basin has been identified as the most stressed basin in terms of water quantity and quality.
Future (2050) water vulnerability (ratio of water demand to supply): medium population growth
Future (2050) water vulnerability (ratio of water demand to supply): medium population growth
Source: Green Book
Future (2050) water vulnerability (ratio of water demand to supply): high population growth
Future (2050) water vulnerability (ratio of water demand to supply): high population growth
Source: Green Book
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