First-of-kind Lesotho water study precipitated by climate change concerns

Dennis Ndaba in Engineering News (South Africa): Concern by Lesotho’s Metolong Authority regarding the possible negative impact that climate change might have on the long-term yield of the proposed Metolong dam led to the commissioning of a first-of-its-kind study, which shows that the dam’s yield is unlikely to decrease in the next 50 years.

…The climate change study forms part of the Metolong Programme, a multidisciplinary project that will run over a number of years and will consist of the Metolong dam, water treatment works, a downstream conveyance system, advanced infrastructure and a comprehensive environmental and social management programme.

The estimated cost of the implementation of the Metolong Programme is $370-million, which will be provided by the Kuwait Fund, the Arab Fund for Economic Development in Africa, the Saudi Fund for Development and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund for International Development.

…Experts from consulting firm Arcus Gibb, supported by consultants from Jeffares & Green, who specialise in the fields of hydrology, water resources planning and the impacts of climate change on hydro-climatic hazards, looked at the possible effects of climate change on an infrastructure that will need to stand for at least the next 100 years.

“The issue of climate change and its impacts on water resources is not new but planners are increasingly concerned about the possible negative impacts of climate change on the usable yields from dams and water resource systems,” says Jeffares & Green associate Gerald de Jager….

Lesotho's Maletsunyane falls, found near the village of Semonkong, shot by BagelBelt, who has released the image into the public domain