The Likangala River originates at Zomba mountain in southern

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

and flows through both urban and rural areas before it flows into

Lake Chilwa Lake Chilwa is the second-largest lake in Malawi after Lake Malawi. It is in eastern Zomba District, near the border with Mozambique. Approximately 60 km long and 40 km wide, the lake is surrounded by extensive wetlands. There is an isla ...

, a wetland of international significance being a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Biodiversity Reserve and

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Likangala Rice Irrigation scheme which was established in 1969, which caters to about 200 farmers and covers an area of 415 ha in size. Communities living in the catchment benefit from many provisioning services including wild foods, reeds, sand, stone, fish and wood. Water quality of the Likangala varies along its length, and point and non-point sources of pollution impact on it. Where it passes by the city Zomba, effluent from the

waste water treatment Wastewater treatment is a process used to remove contaminants from wastewater and convert it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once returned to the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on the environme ...

plans joins the river causing discolorations and

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

growth.Ullberg, M., 2015. Temporal water quality study of the heavily human-impacted Likangala River, Zomba, Malawi. Uppsala University. http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:787196/FULLTEXT01.pdf

References

{{coord, 15, 25, S, 35, 36, E, display=title, region:MW_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Wetlands of Malawi Rivers of Malawi