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Watershed delineation is the process of identifying the boundary of a watershed, also referred to as a catchment, drainage basin, or river basin. It is an important step in many areas of environmental science, engineering, and management, for example to study flooding, aquatic habitat, or water pollution.
Each drainage basin is separated topographically from adjacent basins by a geographical barrier such as a ridge, hill or mountain, which is known as a water divide. Other terms that are used to describe a drainage basin are catchment, catchment area, catchment basin, drainage area, river basin, water basin and watershed.
Great Ruaha is about 475 kilometres (295 mi) long, its tributary basin has a catchment area of 68,000 square kilometres (26,000 sq mi) and the mean annual discharge is 140 cubic metres (4,900 cu ft) per second. The Great Ruaha River supplies 22 percent of the total flow of the Rufiji catchment system.
The surrounding topography of a catchment zone influences the flow vectors and direction that the water flows. [1] Water flows from areas of high potential energy to low potential energy under the influence of gravity. The geometry of the slope leading to the catchment area influences the amount of water the catchment will contain. [1]
In periods of very high water in the Okavango, the water flows eastward towards the Cuando-Linyanti-System. The last time this happened was in August 2009 after 30 years of falling dry. In times of high water in the Kwando, the water can flow west from the Cuando towards the Okavango Delta, but often evaporates before it reaches the delta. [5]
The Department of Water Affairs in Botswana has submitted that 97% of the water in the river is lost through evaporation, so the country cannot afford to lose any extra water. Namibia, in turn, has argued that it will only divert half of one percent of the river's flow, and that it is entitled to any water that flows through its territory.
Measurements of precipitation and evaporation at the Nyabisindu station show that the Mwogo river basin produces an average annual water flow of 252 millimetres (9.9 in). [8] In parts of the river valley the hills have been cleared of trees, causing erosion and silting problems. Efforts are being made to replant trees. [9]
Voëlvlei Dam is a dam located in the Western Cape, South Africa near the town of Gouda.The earth-fill wall is 2,910 metres (9,550 ft) long and 10 metres (33 ft) high. The reservoir covers an area of 1,524 hectares (3,770 acres) and has a capacity of 168,000 megalitres (5,900 × 10 ^ 6 cu ft), [1] making it the second-largest reservoir in the Western Cape Water Supply System.