The Letsibogo Dam is a dam on the

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 ...

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 Kalahar ...

, built to initially provide water to the industrial town of

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 ...

and surrounding local areas, with potential for use in irrigation. The dam now supplies

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. Gaboron ...

, 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 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 differe ...

. 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 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–sout ...

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 rail ...

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 and Water Resources by Arup, who also supervised construction of the water storage embankment and central clay-core dam. It has storage capacity of . It is operated by the Water Utilities Corporation. The dam is part of the

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 ...

, which includes other dams, water transmission systems and water treatment works, bringing water from the northeast of Botswana to the southeast. It is linked to Gaborone by a pipeline. The initial North South Carrier Scheme cost about US$350 million, and came into operation in 2000.

Reservoir uses

Although primarily designed for water storage, the dam is being promoted for tourists as a place for water sports and fishing. In 2011 the government announced plans to upgrade the infrastructure round the dam, include roads, sewage and drinking water, and to create the first artificial beach in Botswana on the northern part of Letsibogo dam. The local government was planning to build a 5-star eco-lodge and a game reserve.

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * * * * {{Dams and reservoirs in Botswana Reservoirs and dams in Botswana Dams completed in 2000 Dams in Botswana