Thesis (MSc. (Agricultural Economics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2011 / In-field rainwater harvesting technology is the technique that combines the advantages of water harvesting, no till, basin tillage and mulching on high drought risk clay soils. It reduces total runoff to zero, and also considerably reduce surface evaporation. The scarcity of agricultural water is increasing at a faster rate than for other sectors in Limpopo Province. Sufficient, clean drinking water is essential to life, but millions of people throughout the world including South Africa continue to have no access to this basic necessity. This study aimed at investigating the extent and nature of adoption of in-field rainwater harvesting technology by households in Lambani village of Limpopo Province. The main objectives of this study were to identify factors determining the in-field rainwater adoption technology for cropland productivity in Lambani village and to determine the extent to which in-field rainwater harvesting adoption influences cropland productivity in Lambani village. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 70 farmers in Lambani village of Limpopo Province. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, logistic regression model and linear regression model were used to analyse the data. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the characteristics of households and the nature of Lambani village, and logistic regression model was used to investigate factors that determine the adoption of infield rainwater harvesting technology, while linear regression model was used to determine the extent to which in-field rainwater harvesting influence the cropland productivity in Lambani village. The results from the logistic regression model indicate that 5 variables out of 10 variables are significant in explaining farmers’ adoption decision. Land size, access to financial service, access to information and contact with extension officer are some of the variables that have significantly positive effects on the adoption of infield rainwater harvesting technology, while hired labour has significantly negative correlation with adoption. Variables such as household size, level of education, age of the household, level of income and the main water source do not significantly influence adoption of in-field rainwater harvesting. This information will help prioritize

Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2007 / The residents of Lebowakgomo in Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality experience numerous inequalities in relation to water services provision. Some of the residents protest towards the inequalities through refusal to pay for the water services. The confrontational non paying residents field questions which the municipality can hardly answer. The problem of refusal to pay is of the magnitude that recently the municipality had to go house-to-house pleading with the inhabitants to pay if the municipality was to continue to provide water services. The specific objectives of this study were three-fold: (1) to determine water service quality using residents’ perceptions on water services in Lebowakgomo, (2) to determine residents’ expectations and perceptions on water services in Lebowakgomo, and (3) to determine the residents’ perceptions on water service quality and customer satisfaction in Lebowakgomo using age, gender, qualification and suburb. A questionnaire comprising five dimensions, namely, tangibles, reliability, assurance, empathy and responsiveness, was compiled to collect data from three suburbs of Lebowakgomo in Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality. The original sample size was 120, with 9 becoming spoiled due to missing data. The independent variables comprised age, qualification, suburb and gender. Most of the data were analysed for kurtosis and skewness and with the exception of one variable, the rest of the data did not conform to parametric analysis criteria. The major findings of this study indicated overall negative perceptions of residents’ on four dimensions of empathy, reliability, responsiveness and assurance on water service quality which implied that the residents were dissatisfied with the service and called on management to use SERVQUAL as a valid model of assessment to identify areas requiring immediate attention for service improvement. On the other contra positive it was revealed that the municipality was doing well on the tangibles dimension. ix The study recommended use of SERVQUAL in measuring quality of other services within the constitutional competencies of the municipality and further research to investigate age contribution to service quality.

Thesis (MSc. (Geography and Environmental Science)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015. / Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment. Growth in population and economic activities have contributed to water scarcity, which is a frequent challenge in rural and township communities in South Africa. This study aimed at investigating onsite greywater reuse as a water conservation method in Lepelle-Nkumpi local municipality, Limpopo province. The study described the socio-economic characteristics, assessed the accessibility and availability of water supply, and ascertained the coping mechanisms for water scarcity as well as the perceptions and reuse of greywater. Four percent respondents each were selected from two settlements, namely, Mashite village and Lebowakgomo township (Zone F). Mashite village had a population size of 5314 people (1231 households) and Lebowakgomo Zone F had 5903 people and (1924 households). A systematic random sampling method was used to select the required households from the two settlements. Both open and close ended questionnaires were used. A Geographical Positioning System was also used to collect the absolute location of available taps in the study area. Data collected were analysed using SPSS version-22 and Arc GIS 10.1. The study found out that the socio-economic characteristics of importance on onsite greywater reuse included highest qualification, household size and employment status, but they varied in these two areas. In Mashite village the majority of the respondents went to secondary school (59%) as compared to Lebowakgomo Zone F where the majority (72%) attained tertiary qualification. Household size mean in Mashite is 6.18 as compared to Lebowakgomo Zone F (2.77). Sixty four percent of respondents in Mashite village were unemployed, whereas in Lebowakgomo 69% were employed. Water usage in the two areas differed; in Mashite village where they use less water (250 to 840 litres) as compared to Lebowakgomo Zone F, where more water is used (5900 to 8001 litres). In Mashite village, 87% of the respondents could not access water due to inaccessibility of taps and unavailability of water as compared to Lebowakgomo zone F (100%). It was also found that the Mashite community sometimes go for a period of two to three months without tap water whereas in Lebowakgomo water was comparatively regular. As a result both communities resorted to rainwater harvesting and greywater reuse. Seventy six percent (76%) of respondents in Mashite village and 30% of the respondents in ii Lebowakgomo Zone F harvested rainwater as a coping mechanism of water scarcity. Perceptions of greywater reuse were higher (76%) in Lebowakgomo Zone F compared to Mashite village (49%). A higher percentage of Mashite village respondents (98%) reuse greywater compared to Lebowakgomo Zone F respondents (59%). Both areas use greywater as water conservation method. These results reinforce the potential of domestic greywater reuse as an alternative for freshwater requirement. Greywater reuse as a water conservation method especially in villages can be used to alleviate the extent of water scarcity. / National Research Foundation (NRF)

MRDV / Institute for Rural Development

MESHWR / Department of Hydrology and Water Resources

MESMEG / Department of Mining and Environmental Geology / See the attached abstract below

MSc (Chemistry) / Department of Chemistry / Surface water is used for domestic and agricultural activities in Musina region and other surrounding areas. This is because of the shortage of potable water. As a result, the people living in the region and its surrounding areas are potentially exposed to hazardous contaminants that may be present in the surface water. It is therefore important to ascertain the quality of the surface water in the region. Surface water samples were collected from Mutale, Nwanedi, Tshipise and Nzhelele rivers. The samples were analysed for anions such as fluoride (F-), chloride (Cl-), nitrate (NO3-), phosphate (PO43-), sulphate (SO42-); cations such as aluminium (Al), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na) and trace metals such as lithium (Li), vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), molybdenum (Mo), cadmium (Cd), thallium (Tl) and lead (Pb) by using analytical techniques such as IC, ICP-OES and ICP-MS. The same samples were also investigated for other parameters such as pH, temperature, EC, TH, TDS, Na % and SAR. The WHO (2008), SANS 241 (2006) and Canadian guideline (2017) were used as a water quality guideline for drinking purposes. Higher concentrations of Li, V, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Al, Ca, Mg, K and Na in river water were detected in rainy season, whereas higher concentrations of As, Mo, K and Fe were recorded in dry season. The concentration of F-, Cd, Tl and Pb showed low contamination level in river samples. The results demonstrated that Tshipise river water was contaminated with high concentration of parameters: TDS (1864.0.8-3372.8 mg L-1), EC (2960.3-5270 mS cm-1), F- (6.403-8.419 mg L-1), SO42- (289.657-326.598 mg L-1), Na (836.690-922.810 mg L-1) and As (10.017-11.267 μg L-1) and relative to the (WHO) water guidelines. Nwanedi river also showed higher values of EC (298.0-699.0) mS cm-1 and TDS (190.3-447.5) mg L-1. In this study, the results indicated that water from Tshipise and Nwanedi river is not suitable for human consumption based on the guidelines of drinking water. The results also indicated that the soil sample had abundance of Ca, Al, Mn and Fe with concentration ranging from 0.13-10595, 0.0084-4.16, 0.0455-1116.5, 2.4-287404 mg Kg-1 respectively. / NRF

PhDENV (Hydrology) / Department of Hydrology and Water Resources / This study developed operating rules for groundwater supply from a probabilistic (risk-based) approach. Groundwater supply systems are often operated without relating groundwater yield/availability to demand which makes groundwater resource planning and management challenging and unpredictable. Risk-based approaches for developing groundwater operating rules comprehensively incorporate assurance of supply and also account for uncertainty due to model inputs, model structure and climate variability. A groundwater resource unit (GRU) was delineated and its hydrogeological conceptual model developed. Automatic curve matching was used to identify appropriate aquifer models and test solutions for estimating hydraulic characteristics (storativity, transmissivity and hydraulic conductivity) based on Aquifer Test Solver (AQTESOLV) Pro version 4.5. Limited groundwater levels and rainfall data were infilled and/or extended using Output Error-Nonlinear Hammerstein Weiner (OE-NLHW) and non-parametric regression (NPR), respectively. Performances of these models were based on relative error (RE), correlation coefficient (COR), root mean square error (RMSE), coefficient of determination (R2) and Nash Sutcliffe coefficient of efficiency (NSE). A program for generation of monthly groundwater levels for the GRU was coded in FORTRAN based on the revised version of the Pitman model (referred to as GW-PITMAN model). The model was calibrated using groundwater levels from a neighbouring borehole due to lack of observed representative data for the GRU. Validation was done by establishing the realistic nature of simulated runoff, recharge and groundwater levels. A Variable Length Block (VLB) bootstrapping model was used for simultaneous generation of stochastic inputs (rainfall, evaporation and groundwater levels) of the groundwater operating rules model. Operating rules were developed from statistical analysis of 100 base yields for the GRU simulated from 5-year long stochastically generated sequences (with length of 34 years) of rainfall, evaporation and groundwater levels. The hydrogeological conceptual model indicated presence of faults and diabase dykes which influence preferential flow paths and storage of water in the aquifer. Identified aquifer test solutions were found to be suitable for estimation of hydraulic characteristics, since they had generally good model fits and low mean residual errors. Heterogeneous aquifer types were identified though leaky aquifer dominated. Storativity, transmissivity and hydraulic conductivity values ranged from 0.0003-0.060, 0.78-12.3 m2/day and 0.074-0.460 m/day, respectively, indicating limited storage with potential for local groundwater supply for private consumption. Graphical fits for observed and estimated rainfall and groundwater levels were mostly comparable, though scatter plots indicated cases of underestimation and overestimation of observed values. R2, COR, NSE, RMSE and RE values were 0.76 and 0.7, 0.87 and 0.84, 0.75 and 0.68, 3.67 and 3.03 mm and 30 and 29% for both calibration and validation runs, respectively, for NPR model. R2, COR, NSE, RMSE and RE were 0.99 and 0.86, 0.97 and 0.93, 0.99 and 0.84, 0.03 and 0.01 m and 0.08 and 0.11% for both calibration and validation runs, respectively, for OE-NLHW model. The models were therefore found to have efficient calibration and validation, and were thus, suitable for data extension. Estimated groundwater levels, streamflow and groundwater recharge for both calibration and validation runs of the GW-PITMAN model, generally fluctuated with changes in rainfall, indicating that they are realistic. Majority (9 out of 10) of the historical statistics were mostly well preserved by VLB, except for skewness. Historic highest groundwater levels were also not well preserved. Superimposing the cumulative demands on the base yield curves and analysis of percentages of water demands that can be supplied indicated that the groundwater system could not meet the water demands at all times. To promote sustainable multipurpose use of water that can enhance rural livelihoods, allocating water using priority classification was found to be essential. Operating rule curves for groundwater supply were derived using a risk-based approach. The operating rule curves indicated that if priority classification is used all water demands are met up to maximum groundwater level of 25 m. The developed operating rule curves are therefore expected to improve water supply to both domestic and productive water uses, if they are adequately implemented and hence improve livelihoods. The procedures followed in developing risk-based groundwater operating rules for Siloam Village were summarised to assist in their application in any delineated groundwater resource unit. Though minimal infrastructure is available to support implementation of the operating rules, additional monitoring boreholes are required to aid in estimation of average groundwater levels for further calibration and validation of the GW-PITMAN model. Detailed geological and geophysical investigation are required to improve on characterisation of the GRU and its hydrogeological conceptual model. Undertaking a study of this nature in other areas including those which are data-scarce could promote wide implementation of risk-based groundwater operating rules. / NRF

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The provision of clean water and water scarcity are the most critical impediments to sustainable development in municipal water supply. Adequate water supply and sanitation services are essential for health, economic development, and environmental protection. Recognizing the importance of access to a safe and adequate water supply has become the core business of many South African municipalities. Among the major challenges facing local government regarding basic service provision in South Africa are acute problems of institutional capacity, maintenance of existing infrastructure, mismanagement of funds, high levels of corruption, political interference and a lack of public anticipation. There has been public outcry in South Africa about poor performance of municipalities in service delivery. Moreover, a good proportion of service delivery protests relate to municipalities‟ “failure to carry out” the supply of “basic” services like water.” It is against this” backdrop “that the” aim of this “study” was “to investigate the” causes of” infrequent “water” supply “on the” wellbeing “of” communities “in” the Greater Tzaneen Municipality, “Limpopo province. Although local municipalities in South Africa are regarded as the providers of essential services, such as water, to date most of the municipalities still lack the capacity to provide water services to community members across the country.” Greater Tzaneen “Municipality finds it challenging to provide water services to communities within its jurisdiction. To achieve this objective, the researcher utilised a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies with a semi”- structured “questionnaire. The” study finds that the municipality is a water service provider and not as such has no authority in the provision of water to the villages. Moreover, it is found that the infrequent water supply has negative impact on the wellbeing of communities’ as water is a basic need and without it, it deprives the citizens of their dignity as enshrined in “Chapter two of the Bill of Rights of the” South African “Constitution.”

MENVM / Department of Geography and Geo-Information Science / See the attached abstract below