Integration of water resources management at Local Authority levels'

1
Integration of water resources management at
Local Authority levels.

• A presentation by
• Albert Mbedzi
• Chief Executive officer,
• Beitbridge Rural District Council
• And Abram Luruli,
• Musina Municipality Manager
• At Symposium on water for local needs- the
  contribution of Local Governments to IWRM at
  Ekurhuleni, South Africa, from 9 to 10 July 2007

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Twinning Background

• Beitbridge Rural District Council
• established in terms of the Rural District
  Councils Act Chapter 2913, through the
  amalgamation of Beitbridge Rural Council and
  Beitbridge District Council in 1993.
• located in the extreme south of Zimbabwe, sharing
  the border with South Africa. The District
  covers an area of 12 697 km2. The Limpopo River
  forms a natural boundary with Musina Local
  Municipality of South Africa.

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Twinning Background

• On the southern side of the Limpopo River lies
  Musina Local Municipality a local authority
  almost as big as Beitbridge District in terms of
  hectarage, but with a bigger urban component.
• As neighbouring local authorities, Beitbridge
  Rural District Council and Musina Local
  Municipality share several aspects in common
  since the populations of the two local
  authorities are so closely linked.
• These include common culture, common problems,
  such as crimes along the border, border jumping
  issues, security matters, health problems at
  border posts and beyond, and also have to liaise
  with each other on many issues that relate to
  border controls as well as water resources
  management.

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Twinning Background

• In realising these common issues, twinning
  negotiations began in earnest in February 2004.
  The two local authorities saw the potential in
  accelerated economic development on both sides,
  through cooperation.
• the two local authorities finally singed a
  Memorandum of Agreement on the Zimbabwean side on
  the 22nd of October 2004.
• To facilitate the process, the Memorandum of
  Agreement provides for six Twinning Sub
  Committees, they are

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Twinning subcommittees

• (a) Tourism and Conservation
• for joint tourism development initiatives, and
• management of mobile resources eg hunting.
• Also to note is that the two local authorities
  play host to the greater part of the Shashe-
  Limpopo TFCA
• (b)   Women, Children and Health
• - for child abuse, disabled children, women
  abuse, and establishing of women empowerment
  programs.
• ( c) Transport, Disaster, Management, Safety and
  Security
• for transport co-ordination, disaster
  management, information and resources sharing,
  and joint community based crime prevention. 

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Twinning subcommittees

• (d) Education, Arts, Sports and culture
• for education and sports,traditional dancing and
  music,indigenous games and songs,arts, drama and
  poetry, culture,HIV Aids, and Teenager
  pregnancies.
• (e) Administration and Economic issues
• for exchange of information, ease of movement of
  local people, employment creation, foreign direct
  investment, and infrastructure development
•  (f) Environmental and Engineering
• for liquid waste management,
• solid waste management, and
• water quality control

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Twinning subcommittees

• The above Sub Committees are expected
• to deal in detail with issues that relate to
  them and then make recommendations and/or
  proposals to the Joint Implementation Committee.
  
• Joint Implementation Committee consists of senior
  management
• The chief Executive Officer of Beitbridge Rural
  District Council,
• the Municipal Manager of Musina Local
  Municipality, and Heads of Departments from both
  sides.
• The Committee sits four times a year to consider
  reports from Sub Committees and make
  recommendations to the Joint Coordination
  Council.

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Twinning subcommittees

• The Joint Coordination Council consists of policy
  makers from both sides
• the Council Chairman from Beitbridge Rural
  District Council,
• the Mayor from Musina Local Municipality,
• and two other Councillors from each side, which
  gives a total of six policy makers forming the
  Council.
• The Council sits four times per year to consider
  reports and recommendations from the Joint
  implementation Committee, and then make policies
  or resolutions.

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Twinning subcommittees.

• Water resources management issues are dealt by
  the environment and engineering subcommittee.
• This is composed of local authority engineering
  staff , Government environmental health officers
  as well as mining environmental health officers
  from both sides.

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Twinning in the context of sharing an
international water course

• Both local authorities share a common border
  which is the Limpopo River. It is seasonal and
  part of its basin yield is committed to both
  local authorities.
• Both authorities abstract water for drinking from
  this river and they discharge their waste (liquid
  and solid) within the basin.
• They both have concentrated urban settlements,
  rural settlements, mines as well as commercial
  farming areas along the river course.

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Water demand.

• Beitbridge RDC water demand
• The urban,industrial and mining water demand is
  met through surface water abstraction from the
  river during high flows, pumped onto off river
  storage 5km up stream of the border post.It
  undergoes convectional treatment before it is
  transmitted 2km to the final consumption point.
• Agricultural water demand is met through sand
  abstraction from limpopo river and its
  tributaries, then pumped to the farms. There are
  some pans where water is pumped for livestock and
  wildlife watering. There are six irrigation
  schemes in the basin under the local authoritys
  jurisdiction. Unfortunately due to lack of
  financial resources they are operating at low
  capacity.

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Water demand

• Rural water demand is through underground water
  supplies, abstracted by mechanized boreholes and
  hand pumps. There are a few scattered small dams
  to harness some flows during flash floods for
  livestock watering as well as to support small
  irrigation schemes. Managed by local water
  committees
• In Beitbridge side there is Zhovhe dam 60km in
  one of the limpopo tributaries which is used as a
  back up for the water supplies for both
  Beitbridge commercial farming areas, and
  Beitbridge urban. However during the river
  releases, Musina municipality urban benefits
  through river bed recharging.

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Water demand

• Musina municipality water demand
• The urban,industrial and mining water demand is
  met through sand abstraction in the river, 15km
  downstream of the border post.It is transmitted
  10km to the final consumption point.
• Agricultural water is met through sand
  abstraction from the river then pumped to the
  farms.there are some pans where water is pumped
  for livestock and wildlife watering.
• Rural water demand is through underground water
  supplies, abstracted by mechanised boreholes and
  hand pumps. There are a few scattered small dams
  to harness some flows during flash floods for
  livestock watering.

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Wastewater management

• Musina municipality
• The urban centre has five plants
• Harper and campbell they are rotating biological
  contactors.
• Musina section 1 and 2 these are wastewater
  stabilizing ponds.
• Nancefield Anaerobic sludge settlers with
  polishing maturation ponds.
• Beitbridge border post
• Oxidation pond sewage plant.
• Rural population use improved ventilated Blair
  toilets
• Solid waste disposal
• Cell forming method on a fenced site

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Water quality management

• Beitbridge Rural District Council
• The urban centre liquid waste disposal is through
  waste water stabilisation ponds for 60 of
  properties while the remainder is on septic
  tanks.
• The rural population use improved ventilated
  Blair latrines and septic tanks on rural service
  centres.
• Solid waste disposal.
• Land fill with the burning of non-biodegradable
  material.

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Twinning gains

• The twinning is benefiting the local authorities
  in the management of the water resources within
  the basin.
• The management of the shared Limpopo
  international river can be described as a
  classical temple
• This temple is composed of the following
• Foundation integrated water resources management
• 3 Pillars Politics, technical cooperation,
  Institutions
• Roof sharing of the international waters.

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Twinning gains..

• The Temple is as follows

Sharing international water resources
Politics
Technical cooperation
Institutions/ legal
Integrated water resources management ( IWRM )
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The temple

• Foundation of temple- IWRM
• The foundation for sharing Limpopo river is the
  realization that the management of water
  resources should be in a fully integrated
  fashion.
• Signing of the twinning agreement has facilitated
  the level of integration of water resources
  management since both local authorities share
  information on drinking water abstraction points,
  pollution points as well as sampling points.
• Water demand for urban centres for both local
  authorities has been highly appreciated and
  efforts to limit pollution levels into the river
  as the Beitbridge urban and border post dispose
  their sewage effluent 15km upstream of Musina
  Urban's drinking water abstraction point.
• Some consideration of seasonal and annual
  downstream and upstream flow fluctuation has been
  appreciated by both local authorities.

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Temple

• Political Pillar
• The twinning was facilitated at high political
  level from both countries.
• There was political will to twin so that benefits
  such as IWRM are realised.
• This also fulfills the will of the SADC
  Presidents who signed a revised protocol on
  shared international water courses signed in
  August 2000 in Gaberone, Botswana.
• Creative deals in tourism were strengthened as
  the transfrontier parks are along the Limpopo
  River. There will be some integrated development
  of such facilities in view of wildlife management
  as well as water resources management of such.
• The Joint coordination committee composed of the
  councillors, the mayors and senior council
  official consolidate the Political pillar.

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Temple..

• Legal and Institutional
• The authorities themselves represent water user
  groups such as water point committees, irrigation
  and dam management committees as well as urban,
  industrial and mining water users.
• In the MOU, both institutions coordinate all
  stakeholders relevant for the twinning
  arrangement. Therefore the two have been
  identified as key Limpopo basin organizations.
• These institutions encourage all stakeholders to
  actively participate in decision-making on water
  use, infrastructure development as well as
  management.
• This is strengthened in the MOU by the fact that
  the offices of these local authorities form the
  alternative venues for committees and
  subcommittees.

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Temple

• Operational and technical pillar
• The MOU preparation and initiatives to enhance
  integrated water resources management was taken
  by the local authorities at operational and
  technical level.
• Professionals from the local authorities are
  instrumental in containing emerging conflicts on
  water use within this portion of the basin.
• Therefore this pillar is crucial in supporting
  the roof.
• To achieve this, both local authorities have
  allowed access of professionals to certain
  crucial real time water quality and quantity data
  as well as municipal facilities.
• The joint implementation committee strengthens
  this pillar.

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Temple

• The roof Sharing the water resources
• Integrated supply and demand management in this
  portion of the basin has been strengthened.
• Some substantial efforts have been made to reduce
  water losses, pollution levels (both diffuse and
  point) as well as limit water demand.
• There is a main thrust to attempt to restore the
  rivers integrity while optimizing water use
  within this portion of the basin.

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Conclusion

• The twinning arrangement has created an awareness
  of the need for horizontal water resources
  management through municipal cooperation.
• Before twinning the two municipalities were using
  water resources as well as managing waste water
  from the same basin without coordination
• wood boring the same finite tree trunk without
  coordination!