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The Study Area includes the entire Crocodile West River Catchment as shown
in the figure below. It also includes part of the Upper Vaal River System, which
supplies part of the Crocodile River Catchment south of the Magaliesberg,
Gauteng North, by Rand Water and the Mokolo River Catchment, where water
supplies to the large mining, power generation and petrochemical developments in
the Lephalale Area need to be augmented from, or via, the Crocodile West River
Catchment.
Crocodile West Reconciliation Strategy Study Area
The Crocodile West River is the largest and most important river in the Crocodile
West and Marico Water Management Area. The Catchment extends northwards from the
Witwatersrand Catchment Divide in Central Johannesburg (where the Crocodile
River originates) up to the confluence of the Crocodile and Marico rivers. From the
confluence of the Crocodile and Marico rivers the river is known as the Limpopo
River, which forms the northern border of South Africa with Botswana and then
with Zimbabwe, before flowing into Mozambique where it discharges into the
Indian Ocean. The Limpopo River Basin is thus an international basin shared by
South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. In South Africa the Crocodile
West River is characterised by the sprawling urban and industrial areas of
Northern Johannesburg and Pretoria, extensive irrigation downstream of
Hartbeespoort Dam and large mining developments north of the Magaliesberg. As a
result, the Crocodile West River is one of the rivers in the country that has been
most influenced by human activities, and specific management strategies are of
paramount importance.
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