Mzingwane River

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Mzingwane River
Mzingwane River above Fulton's Drift (causeway), near Beitbridge, Zimbabwe
Origin	south of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Mouth	Limpopo River
Basin countries	Zimbabwe
Avg. discharge	22.30 mm/a (unit flow)[1]
Basin area	15,695 km2

The Mzingwane River (alternative spelling Umzingwane River) is a major left-bank tributary of the Limpopo River in Zimbabwe.

It rises near Fort Usher, Matobo District, south of Bulawayo and flows into the Limpopo River near Beitbridge, downstream of the mouth of the Shashe River and upstream of the mouth of the Bubye River.

Contents 1 Hydrology 2 Cities, Towns and Settlements along the River 3 Bridges and Crossings 4 Development 5 References

[edit] Hydrology

The Mzingane River is an ephemeral river with flow generally restricted to the months when rain takes place (November to March), with most flow recorded between December and February, except where it has been modified by dam operations ^[2]. The river contributes 9.3 % of the mean annual runoff of the Limpopo Basin, making it the third largest tributary to the Limpopo basin ^[3].

Major tributaries of the Mzingwane River include the Insiza, Inyankuni, Ncema and Umtshabezi (not to be confused with Mchabezi) Rivers.

The lower Mzingwane River is a sand filled channel, with extensive alluvial aquifers in the river channel and below the alluvial plains. Estimated water resources potential of these aquifers ranges between 175,000 m³ and 5.43 m³ in the channels and between 80,000 m³ and 6.92 Mm³ in the plains. Currently, some of these aquifers are being used to provide water for domestic use, livestock watering and dip tanks, commercial irrigation and market gardening.^[4]

[edit] Cities, Towns and Settlements along the River

The settlements cities below have are ordered from the beginning of the river to its end:

• Mbalabala village
• City of Gwanda
• West Nicholson village
• Beitbridge town

[edit] Bridges and Crossings

There are four main bridges over the Mzingwane River:

• Bridge on main Bulawayo - Beitbridge road, between Esigodini and Mbalabala, downstream of Mzingwane Dam. There is also a rail bridge.
• Bridge on main Mbalabala - Masvingo road.
• Bridge on main Bulawayo - Beitbridge road at West Nicholson, downstream of confluence with Insiza River. There is also a rail bridge.
• Bertie Knott Bridge, on the road from Beitbridge to Shashe Irrigation Scheme, near the mouth.

There are also a number of fords, including:

• Two fords upstream of West Nicholson on Silalabuhwa and Mosholomoshe roads.
• Doddieburn ford, downstream of West Nicholson.
• Gems Drift, near Beitbridge.
• Fulton's Drift, near Beitbridge.

[edit] Development

In addition to a number of small weirs, there are two major dams on the Mzingwane River:

• Mzingwane Dam, built in 1962, with a full supply capacity of 42 Mm³. It is located near the source of the river and supplies water to the City of Bulawayo.

• Zhovhe Dam, built in 1996, with a full supply capacity of 136 Mm³.It is located near the confluence with the Limpopo River and supplies water for irrigation and to Beitbridge

An additional dam site has been identified at Glassblock, but development is not currently scheduled ^[5].

Currently, a project is underway to construct a pipeline from the upper Mchabezi River (not to be confused with Umtshabezi) to Mzingwane Dam.

[edit] References

1. ^ Görgens, A.H.M. and Boroto, R.A. 1997. Limpopo River: flow balance anomalies, surprises and implications for integrated water resources management. In: Proceedings of the 8th South African National Hydrology Symposium, Pretoria, South Africa.
2. ^ Love, D., Uhlenbrook, S., Nyabeze, W., Owen, R.J.S., Twomlow, S., Savenije, H. , Woltering, L. and van der Zaag, P. 2005. Modelling of hydrological change for IWRM planning: case study of the Mzingwane River, Limpopo Basin, Zimbabwe. In: Abstract Volume, 6th WaterNet/WARFSA/GWP-SA Symposium, Ezulwini, Swaziland, November 2005, p31.[1]
3. ^ Görgens, A.H.M. and Boroto, R.A. 1997. Limpopo River: flow balance anomalies, surprises and implications for integrated water resources management. In: Proceedings of the 8th South African National Hydrology Symposium, Pretoria, South Africa.
4. ^ Moyce, W., Mangeya, P., Owen, R. and Love, D. 2006. Alluvial aquifers in the Mzingwane Catchment: their distribution, properties, current usage and potential expansion. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 31, 988-994. [2]
5. ^ Chibi, T., Kandori, C. and Makone, B.F. 2005. Mzingwane Catchment Outline Plan. Zimbabwe National Water Authority, Bulawayo.