Lesotho Water Project case study Flashcards
1
Q
Why is Lesotho a good location for a dam project?
A
- high rainfall due to high altitude
- high altitude allows for dams to built across the mountainous region
- lots of tributaries across mountain ranges
2
Q
How has the country benefitted?
A
- South Africa buys water from the country
- can control flow of water, good for local communities
- generate 72Mw of electricity through HEP schemes
- $30 million per month from the sales of the water
- environmetally friendly energy production
- help protect habitats due to ensuring a sustainable water supply
3
Q
What have been the negative impacts?
A
- damage local ecosystems
- poor infrastructure leads to leakages
- costs the country a huge amount of money
4
Q
Describe the country Lesotho?
A
- South Africa, below Tropic of Cancer
- mountainous
- newly independent from UK
- poor: low amounts of resources, high levels of povervty
- only 11720 sq miles, 137th biggest country in world
5
Q
What are the Katse and Mohale Dams?
A
- completed in 1998 and 2002
- store water
- transferred through tunnel to the Mohale Reservoir
- then transferred to South Africa through a 32km tunnel
6
Q
What is the Polihali Dam?
A
- will hold 2.2 billion metres.cubed of water
- 38km transfer tunnel
7
Q
What is the Tsoelike Dam?
A
- confluence of Tsoelike and Senqu rivers
- storgae capacity of 2223 million metre.cubed
- pumping station
8
Q
What is the Ntoehae Dam?
A
- 40km downstream from the Tsoelike Dam
9
Q
How long will the tunnels be in total by 2020?
How much water will be transferred to South Africa each year?
A
- 200km of tunnels
- 2000 million metres.cubed
