DAMS IN ZIMBABWE
22 May 2015
On the back of property rights, Zimbabwe developed 80 percent of the continent’s irrigation dams within its borders – despite it being a relatively small country. When property rights were destroyed, poverty resulted. (Ben Freeth, presentation for the Christian Economic Forum)
EXCELLENT INFORMATION FROM THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANISATION (FAO)
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Table 2.4 Distribution of dams by land types |
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Land type |
Dams |
Number with known capacity |
Average surface area |
Total surface area |
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(no.) |
(%) |
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(ha) |
(ha) |
(%) |
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Communal |
1 983 |
25 |
1440 |
22.8 |
32 789 |
34 |
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Resettlement |
1111 |
14 |
762 |
5.75 |
4 382 |
5 |
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Commercial |
4 875 |
61 |
3 304 |
13.5 |
44 472 |
47 |
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Other |
31 |
0 |
25 |
533* |
13 327 |
14 |
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Total |
8 000 |
100 |
5 531 |
17.0 |
94 970 |
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Unknown ownership |
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*Includes two large dams, i.e. Mutirikwi and Sebakwe |
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Table 2.5 Small dams of Zimbabwe by size1 |
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Size range |
Number |
Area |
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(ha) |
(%) |
(%) |
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0 – 1 |
13 |
1 |
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1 – 5 |
49 |
9 |
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5 – 10 |
18 |
9 |
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10 – 20 |
11 |
10 |
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20 – 50 |
5 |
11 |
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50 – 100 |
1 |
7 |
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>100 |
1 |
55 |
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1 Zimbabwe has 10 747 dams (117 662 ha) Source: Ersdal, 1994 |
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Nearly one-half of the small water bodies in Zimbabwe are within the size range of 1-5ha (Table 2.4). Of the 10 747 small water bodies in Zimbabwe, 4 875 (61%) are situated in the privately owned commercial lands, used for cattle ranching, irrigation or aquaculture (this figure differs slightly with the AGRITEX database, which is based on GIS). The communal and resettlement areas, where the dams provide direct benefit to the artisanal and rural fishers, account for 39% of the dams and cover 40% of the total area. Dams of the communal areas are slightly larger in average size (Table 2.5). Details of water use are available on 8227 dams, 75% of which are meant for agriculture use. The urban water supply and government/institutional use account for 1.6% of the dams, while the industry and mines utilize the water of 0.5% of them. In many cases, the dams are put to multiple use, such as cattle watering, drinking water supply, domestic use and irrigation.
There is a preponderance of dams along the highlands running across the country from the southwest to the northeast, comprising the provinces of Matabeleland South, Masvingo, Manicaland, Midlands and the Mashonalands (Figure 5).
The dry cattle county of Matabeleland South accounts for 23% (2,243) of the 9,818 dams listed in the AGRITEX database, followed by 17% in Midlands and 14% each in the East and West Mashonaland provinces.
The dams in Masvingo have the maximum capacity of 29%, followed by Midlands with 26% capacity (Table 2.6). In all the provinces, most of the dams are small with a capacity of less than 100000 m3. Dams with volume higher than 500,000 m3 are very few (Table 2.7). Distribution of dams in 60districts of the country and the inventory of dams in the Mudzi district are given in Table 2.8 and Table 2.9 respectively.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/w7560e/w7560e02.htm