The Great Ruaha River is a river in south-central Tanzania that flows through the Usangu wetlands and the Ruaha National Park east into the

Rufiji River The Rufiji River lies entirely within Tanzania. It is also the largest and longest river in the country. The river is formed by the confluence of the Kilombero and Luwegu rivers. It is approximately long, with its source in southwestern Tanzania ...

. It traverses and marks the borders between Iringa Region, Dodoma Region and Morogoro Region. The Great Ruaha river has a basin catchment area of . The population of the basin is mainly sustained by irrigation and water-related livelihoods such as fishing and livestock keeping.

Size

Great Ruaha is about long, its tributary basin has a catchment area of and the mean annual discharge is per second. The Great Ruaha River supplies 22 percent of the total flow of the Rufiji catchment system. Thirty-eight species of fish have been identified in the Great Ruaha River. The river's headwaters are in the Kipengere Range In west

Njombe Region Njombe Region (''Mkoa wa Njombe'' in Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions. The region covers a land area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of El Salvador. Njombe Region is bord ...

. From there the Great Ruaha River descends to the

Usangu plains The Usangu Plain is a lowland in south-central Tanzania. It is named for the Sangu people. Geography The Usangu Plain covers an area of 15,500 km2. It extends northeast-southwest, bounded on the south by the Udzungwa Mountains, and the Kipenger ...

, an important region for irrigated agriculture and livestock in Tanzania. The river eventually reaches the

Mtera Dam Mtera Dam is a hydroelectric dam in Tanzania. The dam is located midway between Iringa and Dodoma on the border between the Iringa Region and the Dodoma Region. The travel time from Dodoma is about two hours on a tarmac road. Overview Mtera Dam ...

and then flows south to the

Kidatu Dam Kidatu Dam, also Kidadu Hydroelectric Power Station, is a hydroelectric dam in Tanzania. Location The power station is located across the Great Ruaha River, in the village of Kilosa, in Morogoro Region, approximately , by road, southwest of D ...

. These two generate about 50 percent of Tanzania's electricity. The river continues southwards and flows across the

Selous Game Reserve The Selous Game Reserve, now renamed Nyerere National Park, is a protected area in southern Tanzania. It covers a total area of and has additional buffer zones. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982 due to its wildlife diversity ...

before reaching the Rufiji River. The major rivers contributing to the Great Ruaha River are Lukosi, Yovi, Kitete, Sanje, Little Ruaha, Kisigo, Mbarali, Kimani, and Chimala whereas the small ones include Umrobo, Mkoji, Lunwa, Mlomboji, Ipatagwa, Mambi, and Mswiswi rivers.

Issues

Decreased flows in the Great Ruaha have been recorded since the early 1990s, resulting in complete drying of sections of the river in 1993 and in dry years since (''illustration above''). This has been attributed to uncontrolled and poor water management, with the large rice irrigation schemes playing a major role. By 2019, the Great Ruaha experienced no water flow for several months per year. A report published by the World Bank listed the Great Ruaha as an endowment in crisis due to environmental factors. Ruaha National Park Panorama

References

Sources

WWF.org - The Ruaha Water Programme

FAO - fact sheet on the ecohydrology of the Great Ruaha River (2003)
* Öhman, May-Britt, Taming Exotic Beauties: Swedish Hydro Power Constructions in Tanzania in the Era of Development Assistance, 1960s - 1990s, Stockholm, 2007, PhD Thesis, http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:12267 {{Authority control Rivers of Tanzania Rufiji River