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Letsibogo Dam
The Letsibogo Dam is a dam on the Motloutse River in Botswana, built to initially provide water to the industrial town of Selebi-Phikwe and surrounding local areas, with potential for use in irrigation. The dam now supplies Gaborone, the capital of the country, via a pipeline, as well as major villages along the pipeline route. Location and climate The dam is located near the village of Mmadinare. The climate is tropical and semi-arid, with 90% of rainfall during the period from November to March. Mean annual precipitation is about in the catchment area above the dam. It is very variable, with rainfall less than 40% of the average expected in one year in seven. In August 2012 the dam was only one third full, prompting concerns that there could soon be water shortages in the areas of the areas of Palapye, Mahalapye and Gaborone. Some blamed the problem in part to slow repair of leaking pipelines. Structure and operations The dam was designed for the Ministry of Minerals, Energy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North-South Carrier Water Project
The North-South Carrier (NSC) is a pipeline in Botswana that carries raw water south for a distance of to the capital city of Gaborone. Phase 1 was completed in 2000. Phase 2 of the NSC, under construction, will duplicate the pipeline to carry water from the Dikgatlhong Dam, which was completed in 2012. A proposed extension to deliver water from the Zambezi would add another to the total pipeline length. The NSC is the largest engineering project ever undertaken in Botswana. Climate Botswana has an arid climate, with little in the way of surface water supplies. Until recently, groundwater wells were used to meet about 80% of demand for water. Some of the groundwater accumulated long ago when the climate was wetter. "Groundwater mining" is not sustainable in areas where the water is not being renewed from the surface. The more populous eastern portion of Botswana lies in the Limpopo River basin, which is considered "closed". In the South African portion of the basin, water usa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. It is connected to Zambia across the short Zambezi River border by the Kazungula Bridge. A country of slightly over 2.3 million people, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. About 11.6 percent of the population lives in the capital and largest city, Gaborone. Formerly one of the world's poorest countries—with a GDP per capita of about US$70 per year in the late 1960s—it has since transformed itself into an upper-middle-income country, with one of the world's fastest-growing economies. Modern-day humans first inhabited the country over 200,000 years ago. The Tswana ethnic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motloutse River
The Motloutse River is a river in Botswana, a tributary of the Limpopo River. The catchment area is . The Letsibogo Dam on the Motloutse has been built to serve the industrial town of Selebi-Phikwe and surrounding local areas, with potential for use in irrigation. Ecology A field survey of the region in January 1989, before the dam was built, recorded 120 species of birds, mostly small insectivores. A relatively large number of water birds were found due to the presence of permanent pools on the Motloutse river downstream from its confluence with the Letlhakane river. The species of bird were generally typical for the region. Before the dam was built, five or more pioneer fish species would migrate upstream from the Limpopo River into the Motloutse River during floods. The Letsibogo dam was expected to support a permanent fish population similar to that of the Shashe Dam. Water resource Mean annual precipitation is , while mean annual potential evapotranspiration is . Due to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selebi-Phikwe
Selebi-Phikwe (also spelt ''Selibe Phikwe'') is a mining town located in the Central District of Botswana. It had a population of 42,488 in 2022. The town is an administrative district, separate from the surrounding Central District. Mining Nickel mining commenced in 1973 and has been the main activity since. The complex includes a mine and a smelter. All operations are now deep mining. Originally there were two tiny places called Selebi and Phikwe, which straddled a large undiscovered deposit of copper and nickel in the area. When the mineral wealth of the area was discovered in the 1960s a mine and a township were built in the woodland between the places with the combined name of Selebi-Phikwe. The main source of employment was the BCL Limited mine which excavated and smelted mixed copper-nickel ore from several shafts in deep and opencast mines. The opencast pit is now unused. Ore is transported from the shaft by rail for smelting. The locomotives used were steam-powered, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaborone
Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Gaborone is situated between Kgale Hill and Oodi Hill, near the confluence of the Notwane River and Segoditshane River in the south-eastern corner of Botswana, from the South African border. The city is served by the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport. It is an administrative district in its own right, but is the capital of the surrounding South-East District. Locals often refer to the city as ''GC or Motse-Mshate''. The city of Gaborone is named after Chief Gaborone of the Tlokwa tribe, who once controlled land nearby. Because it had no tribal affiliation and was close to fresh water, the city was planned to be the capital in the mid-1960s when the Bechuanaland Protectorate became an independent nation. The centre of the city is a lon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mmadinare
Mmadinare is a village that is located in the Central District of Botswana, 15 kilometers from Selibe Phikwe. The village is slowly growing into a town, with a population estimate of about 13 000 (estimates from the 2004 census) people of different tribes including Bangwato, Batalaote, Babirwa, and others. Mmadinare is located in the center of hills; like other villages in Southern Africa it was started during wars and hills were used as a form of protection from enemies, as they were able to see them from a distance. Geography Motloutse River passes on the northern part of the village called, which supplies the Letsibogo Dam with water, on its way to Shashe River down further east. The river is partly depleted as a result of sand mining by the copper mine in Selibe Phikwe, which gets sand from the river to wash their copper ores. The area also has a high potential for tourism and wildlife resources, as there are many animals in the surrounding areas especially elephants which d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palapye
Palapye is a growing town in Botswana, situated about halfway between Francistown and Gaborone ( from Francistown and from Gaborone). Over the years its position has made it a convenient stopover on one of Southern Africa's principal north–south rail and road routes. Located here is the Morupule Colliery coal mine, which supplies Morupule Power Station, Botswana's principal domestic source of electricity. The power station has undertaken an expansion project to increase its generation capacity in an effort to meet the country's increasing demand for electricity. Construction began in 2010. , Morupule A plant produces 132 MW of electricity, while Morupule B produces 600 MW. In 1997 Palapye was said to be the fastest-growing village in Africa, and was expected to expand its population from 30,000 to 180,000. History The Bamangwato people, under Kgosi Khama III, are widely believed to be the first people to have settled near present-day Palapye. Their capital was the settlement o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahalapye
Mahalapye is a town located in the Central District of Botswana. The town has about 41,000 inhabitants and is situated along the main road between the capital Gaborone and the second largest city Francistown. Mahalapye has a bus station, a railway station, a couple of hotels and a market area with many shops and fast food restaurants, Water Shed mall is the latest attraction to those travelling from Gaborone to Francistown, great place for refreshments. It also has several petrol stations, some open 24 hours per day. Being situated on the edge of the Kalahari desert it is quite dry, and the local waterways are dry except during the rainy season. In recent times, it has become a convenient stop-over town for travelers travelling to and from Gaborone. This town is located on the Tropic of Capricorn. Thus at approximately 13:11 hours on 21 December, or at solar noon on Summer Solstice, the sun will be directly overhead at this site. To mark this geographic feature there is a small m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arup Group Limited
Arup (officially Arup Group Limited) is a British multinational professional services firm headquartered in London which provides design, engineering, architecture, planning, and advisory services across every aspect of the built environment. The firm employs approximately 16,000 staff in over 90 offices across 35 countries around the world. Arup has participated in projects in over 160 countries. Arup was originally established in 1946 by Sir Ove Arup as ''Ove N. Arup Consulting Engineers''. Through its involvement in various high-profile projects, such as the Sydney Opera House, Arup became well known for undertaking complex and challenging projects involving the built environment. In 1970, Arup stepped down from actively leading the company, setting out the principles which have continued to guide Arup's activities since in his 'Key Speech'. The ownership of Arup is structured as a trust. The beneficiaries of the trust are Arup's employees, both past and present, who rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water Utilities Corporation (Botswana)
Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) is a government-owned corporation that provides water and waste water management services in Botswana. The Board is appointed by the Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources. The water supply is critically important in the arid or semi-arid environment of Botswana. History Water Utilities Corporation was established in 1970 by an Act of Parliament (Cap 74:02). During its establishment, it managed a single project: the supply and distribution of water in what was then called the Shashe Development Area. The Government of Botswana expanded this mandate to include planning, construction, operation, treatment, maintenance, and distribution of water resources in the country’s urban centres and other areas. It also involved the supply of bulk water to the then Department of Water Affairs and various Local Authorities for onward distribution to villages and settlements. Between 2009 and 2013, the water sector was restructured. The Corporat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reservoirs And Dams In Botswana
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of water, interrupting a watercourse to form an embayment within it, through excavation, or building any number of retaining walls or levees. In other contexts, "reservoirs" may refer to storage spaces for various fluids; they may hold liquids or gasses, including hydrocarbons. ''Tank reservoirs'' store these in ground-level, elevated, or buried tanks. Tank reservoirs for water are also called cisterns. Most underground reservoirs are used to store liquids, principally either water or petroleum. Types Dammed valleys Dammed reservoirs are artificial lakes created and controlled by a dam constructed across a valley, and rely on the natural topography to provide most of the basin of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dams Completed In 2000
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aquaculture, and navigability. Hydropower is often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity. A dam can also be used to collect or store water which can be evenly distributed between locations. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees (also known as dikes) are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. The earliest known dam is the Jawa Dam in Jordan, dating to 3,000 BC. The word ''dam'' can be traced back to Middle English, and before that, from Middle Dutch, as seen in the names of many old cities, such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam. History Ancient dams Early dam building took place in Mesopotamia and the Middle East. Dams were used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
