Catchment overview

The Crocodile Catchment covers about 10 450 km². The naturalised mean annual runoff is
1 200 million cubic metres per year, with an estimated maximum yield (that is, the maximum amount storable in dams) of 859 million cubic metres per year. The Kwena Dam already commands 10% of the total catchment runoff, and the proposed Mountain View Dam will regulate a large portion of the Kaap River runoff.

The estimated water use in 1997 was 580 million cubic metres per year, of which irrigation accounted for 49%, forestry 43% and industry, commerce and mining the remaining 8%.

An assessment for the determination of the Reserve for the Crocodile River has not yet been completed. DWAF is in the process of making provision for supplying all residents of the catchment with a minimum of 25 litres per person per day. The environmental water requirements, domestic water supply objectives, and international obligations (water supply to Mozambique), are priorities for water allocation from present and future dams. Future irrigation and water intensive industries are likely to either be constrained or forced to utilise more resource-conservative methods.

Summary of findings

Move cursor over map and select specific area to view detailed map and Present Ecological State (PES) findings.