Managed Aquifer Recharge Projects in the Western Karoo, South Africa: Progress and Challenges

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR)Managed aquifer recharge in Southern Africa is nothing new and various projects have been completed with great success since the 1950s. In the Western Karoo, South Africa, climate changeClimate change is predicted to cause prolonged droughts. Recent droughts have had devastating effects on the water supply to dispersed communities, affecting their lives and livelihoods. By using relatively simple and cost-effective MAR schemes (annual recharge of between 0.18 and 1.1 Mm3 per scheme), depleted aquifersAquifers have been replenished locally, restoring and improving water supplies. In this chapter, four sites (Saaipoort, Smouskolk, Williston, and Sutherland) in the Western Karoo are described in terms of the MAR schemes implemented and their progress and ongoing challenges. The first scheme was started in 2000, but most of them are built on or expand existing water supply infrastructure, basically augmenting capture and harvesting of occasional rainfall for recharge in the vicinity of production boreholes. The rationale for expanding the systems was in most cases that the existing systems could not keep up with population growth and the higher variability in rainfall. Despite the progress, the MAR schemes have had varying success due to factors like limited and very erratic rainfall and geological factors such as impermeable clay layers that restrict recharge. Based on the findings, and per the Water and Sanitation Masterplan for South Africa, additional schemes are being investigated for more towns in the Western Karoo. This chapter showcases the progress and experiences of current MAR schemes in South Africa in terms of performance and impacts, with a focus on the Western Karoo cases, and discusses, apart from the biophysical and performance aspects, the socioeconomic and institutional aspects. The aspiration is that new MAR projects can be planned and implemented with high confidence in their success, to help with assured future water supply in the Western Karoo, South Africa, and beyond.