Volume II - The Northern Cape Provincial Spatial Development ...

Northern Cape PSDF
Volume 2
December 2011
west. Potential evaporation can be as high as 2 800 mm per year, which, as is the case with
the Upper and Lower Orange WMAs, exceeds the rainfall.
Map C.6: Water Management Areas of South Africa (Source: Department of Water Affairs).
C.2.4.4 OLIFANTS / DOORN WMA
This is the least populated WMA in South Africa. The main river in the area is the Olifants
River with the Doring River as its main tributary. The Olifants / Doorn WMA is predominantly
a winter rainfall region, with only the south‐eastern region receiving more than 300 mm of
rain annually (DWAF, 2004).
C.2.5 GROUNDWATER
Over a third of the rural population of South Africa is dependent on groundwater resources
for household and agricultural use (Colvin et al. 2007). In all areas of the Northern Cape,
except along the Orange and Vaal rivers, the population is dependent on groundwater.
C.2.6 WATER BALANCE
The table below demonstrates the water balance in the Province as it was in 2000, and
adjusted to estimate the envisaged situation in 2025 (Source: Department of Water Affairs).
Office of the Premier &
Department of Rural Development & Land Reform
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Dennis Moss Partnership