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The main focus of this Study is the Richards Bay Water Supply System (RBWSS). The RBWSS supplies water to the City of uMhlathuze Local Municipality (CoMLM), which comprises the towns of Richards Bay, Empangeni, Ngwelezane and Esikhaweni, as well as a number of rural villages. Furthermore, the RBWSS also supplies large well-developed industries, commercial areas and business centres within the Study Area. The RBWSS’s supply area is within the Mhlathuze River Catchment, which is the major water resource. Water is, however, also sourced from various natural lakes within the Catchment such as Lake Nhlabane, Lake Mzingazi and Lake Cubhu. The Catchment also serves as the resource for agriculture, both irrigated and dryland, afforestation, as well as ecological requirements.
The Study Area includes the Mhlathuze River Catchment as illustrated in the Figure below. The Mhlathuze River Catchment receives inter-catchment transfers from the Umfolozi River and Thukela (Tugela) River Catchments and, as a result, these Catchments are also part of the Study Area. Additional smaller towns not incorporated in the Strategy (2015), namely, Eshowe, Mtunzini, Melmoth, Gingindlovu and Amatikulu, have been included in this Study. They will be addressed at a desktop level.
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