The Lesotho Highlands Water Project
A huge water transfer scheme selling highland Lesotho's water to South Africa's cities, bringing royalties, power and displacement.
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- Lesotho
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Evidence
7 figures, each threaded to its source
Capacity of the Muela hydropower station
72MW
2 sources
“the Muela hydropower station, which can generate 72 megawatts of electricity”
Water transferred to South Africa each year
800 millioncubic metres
2 sources
“Each year the project transfers almost 800 million cubic metres of water”
Annual royalties paid to Lesotho
240 millionUS$ per year
“The water royalties currently pay out almost R4 billion (US$240 million) each year to Lesotho”
Share of Lesotho's government budget from royalties
15%
“or about 15% of the Lesotho government's total budget”
Share of Johannesburg's water supplied
60%
“supplies around 60% of Johannesburg's water needs for its roughly 5.5 million people”
People who lost land to the first two dams
30,000people
“The construction of the first two dams meant 30000 people had to move from their land.”
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Background
Lesotho is a small, mountainous country completely surrounded by South Africa. It is poor in most resources but rich in water, because its highlands catch heavy rain and snow. Next door, South Africa's Gauteng province, home to Johannesburg, is the region's economic engine but sits in a dry area short of water. In 1986 the two governments signed a treaty to build the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, one of the largest water transfer schemes in the world. Dams such as Katse, completed in 1997, and Mohale store highland water, which flows by gravity through long tunnels into South Africa's Vaal river system. In return Lesotho receives royalty payments and generates its own electricity at the Muela hydropower station. Later phases continue the scheme, with the Polihali Dam under construction. The project shows how water can be traded like any other resource, and how the benefits and costs of a mega project are shared very unevenly.
Causes
Gauteng's thirst
Gauteng holds South Africa's largest cluster of cities, mines and factories, yet it lies on a dry plateau far from any big river. Local supplies from the Vaal system could not keep up with a growing population and economy, so South Africa needed a large, reliable source of extra water from outside its own borders.
Lesotho's water surplus and height
Lesotho's highlands receive far more rain and snow than the country can use, and they stand higher than Gauteng. That altitude means water can be moved by gravity through tunnels, with no pumping costs. Selling a resource the country had in surplus was one of the few ways a small mountain nation could earn steady income.
Lesotho's need for money and power
Lesotho is one of Africa's poorer countries, with few exports and many workers dependent on jobs abroad. The treaty promised royalties, construction jobs, new roads into remote highlands and, at Muela, the country's first major hydropower station. For the government the project offered income and electricity that no other scheme could match.
Effects
Primary
- Almost 800 million cubic metres of water are transferred to South Africa every year through tunnels cut through the mountains.
- The Katse Dam, at 185 metres Africa's second highest, and later dams store highland water in huge reservoirs.
- The Muela station generates 72 MW of hydroelectricity, giving Lesotho its own power source.
Secondary
- The project now supplies around 60 per cent of Johannesburg's water, keeping Gauteng's economy running.
- New tarred roads, clinics and power lines built for the dams opened up remote highland districts.
- Royalty income funds government spending across Lesotho, from schools to infrastructure.
Social
- Around 30,000 people lost land, grazing or homes to the first two dams and had to move or change how they lived.
- Compensation for lost fields and grazing was often delayed or disputed, leaving some families worse off.
- Construction brought jobs and new roads, but also social problems around work camps in formerly isolated valleys.
Economic
- Water royalties bring Lesotho almost 240 million US dollars a year, about 15 per cent of the government's budget.
- Thousands of jobs were created during dam construction, though most ended when building finished.
- Lesotho's budget now depends heavily on a single customer, South Africa, continuing to buy its water.
Environmental
- Reservoirs flooded valleys, farmland and habitats in the highlands.
- Rivers below the dams carry less water, harming wetlands, fish and downstream users.
- Reduced flow into the Senqu and Orange river system changes sediment movement and ecosystems far beyond Lesotho.
Responses
Immediate
- Displaced households were rehoused and given compensation payments or food support for lost fields and grazing land.
- The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority was set up to build the dams and manage payments to affected villages.
- Environmental flow releases were agreed so that rivers below the dams are not left completely dry.
Long term
- Phase II centres on the Polihali Dam, which will raise water transfers and royalty income further.
- Royalties fund national development programmes, and community projects aim to bring water and electricity to highland villages.
- Ongoing monitoring of downstream rivers and compensation claims tries to correct problems left over from the first phase.
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