The Project Manager for Integrated Water Resources Planning (iwrm Botswana) has said water should be a development driving vehicle, as opposed to its being a hindrance.
In an interview recently, Michael Ramaano said the lack of sector planning coordination has left some far reaching outcomes that have thwarted development in the country. He gave an example of big villages like Ramotswa, Palapye and Serowe where the underground tables were as close to the surface as around ten meters deep.
Land Board Physical planners (because they excluded the Department of Water Affairs in their planning) ruled that allocation of residential plots could be done anywhere ÔÇôincluding right on top of the water tables.
Pit latrine toilets about six meters deep were built and after sometime the refuse from these polluted the underground water. This forced the government to connect the villages with vast underground water to piped water from dams in faraway places.
To remedy these failures, the various stakeholders (sectors) then considered adopting an internationally recognized principle of IWRM; the main objective of which is to ‘facilitate the development of national processes, procedures methods and options for efficient and equitable IWRM.’ The development and implementation of a dynamic IWRM or water efficiency plan for Botswana will address both national and trans-boundary water management priorities and will be supported by and contribute to regional knowledge. Thus, the IWRM project plan was drafted. It is now up and running.
The Project implemented pilot projects for water conservation through conjunctive use of Grey-water re-use and rain water harvesting in selected schools of Botswana with the aim to demonstrate tangible impacts on the ground and further document and disseminate lessons learnt across the Southern African region.
“We started with rain water harvesting pilot projects at Shoshong Secondary School and Our Lady of the Desert School in Francistown. Shoshong Secondary school had for too long been struggling with water scarcity. The school is on a higher ground to the village level, rendering it difficult to convey water up to its storage tanks at the times when pressure was low from the underground source. It had to be closed several times due to this problem,” explained Ramaano.
He said Our Lady School is not a wholly government owned school and it is difficult sometimes to pay for utilities, including water. Further more, at times when there was no or little portable water and bowsers are used, the rain harvested water can substitute portable one by being used in toilets and gardens while portable water would be for drinking and cooking.
And so, the IWRM installed eight 30 000 liters rainwater harvesting tanks in each of the schools. This means 240 000 liters after good rains- enough to supply each school for all the winter or dry season.
The IWRM also did grey water harvesting pilot projects at Motsumi Community Junior Secondary School in Letlhakane and Madiba Senior Secondary School in Mahalapye. The grey water is gotten from the kitchens and toilets of the schools, recycled and reused.
Another grey water recycling pilot project was at Mbiroba Camps in Seronga. Previously the Camps used septic where the dirty water from the toilets was dumped into the Okavango Delta. With the current recycling system, the dirty water is purified by the reeds as it flows into the delta.
The Project Manager said the IWRM is also doing guidelines for liquid waste management. This emanates from the fact that generation of liquid waste is rising in the country, especially in the Ngamiland and Okavango areas. Through its completed projects so far, IWRM has faced challenges and has learnt lessons.
Among its challenges is that there is no capacity in Botswana; no one is an expert in the IWRM. Another challenge is that the legislative frame work is still lagging behind. This has led to the IWRM project coming up with a Water Resources Council which will ensure sustainable water usage.
“Although we know our boundaries as sectors, these boundaries do not go with accountability. For example, it may be a known fact that the water treatment plant is under the council, but if it pollutes its surroundings then it is no longer the council’s. Secondly, as the government we have very poor maintenance and monitoring of our projects. Thirdly, the enforcement of laws is easier administered to the Private sector. When it is the government that is at fault then it becomes very difficult to administer it. Fourthly our plans as various sectors are based on hopes instead of target out come. For example, the allocation of residential plots! Nothing is planned as a solution in case plots are affected by floods. Land boards just hope that things go well.”
