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dam-l KRUGER-CRISIS/LS

>
>JOHANNESBURG 3 February 1999 Sapa
>
>STRAIN ON SABIE RIVER THREATENS KRUGER PARK ECOSYSTEM
>
>Parts of the Sabie River flowing through Kruger National Park
>could silt up because too many people were using it, the Water
>Research Commission said on Wednesday.
>
>The pressure includes agriculture and water for drinking or
>other domestic use.
>
>The flow patterns of the Sabie were already changing
>significantly, which spelt disaster for plants, fish and animals in
>the Mpumulanga section of the park, WRC spokeswoman Ingrid Stubbe
>said.
>
>A report the commission financed showed 84 percent of the
>river's annual flow could be consumed by deprived communities by
>2010. At the moment 28 percent of the Sabie River's water was used
>by humans, although increased activity around the river caused
>large-scale erosion and increased sediment.
>
>It was expected that intensive irrigation farming would
>increase sharply on the banks. Several large dams were planned and
>they would further inhibit the flow of water to parts of the park,
>Stubbe said.
>
>Stubbe said reverine vegetation would be most severely affected
>by silt. Between 75 percent and 95 percent of the vegetation's
>water was provided by seepage through the river banks.
>
>The Sabie is unusual in that it flows in several channels,
>especially during dry periods.
>
>Most projects planned for the river were aimed at getting water
>to communities that needed it, Stubbe said. At present only about
>35 percent of people in the region had enough drinking water.
>
>---
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      Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
        and Editor, World Rivers Review
           International Rivers Network
              1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
                  Tel. (510) 848 1155   Fax (510) 848 1008
                        http://www.irn.org
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