GEOMORPHOLOGY: GRADE 12 Revision

Overview: this section of work was covered in grade 11 in preparation for this year. You will
need to work through this document while referring to your grade 11 notes. Complete all
the answers to the questions herein in your workbook, we will go through the answers
together after I have seen your completed work. You will be tested on this section of
work soon.
In this revision booklet we will be covering rivers and how they contribute to the carving of
the landscape, namely:
• Drainage systems in South Africa
• Fluvial processes
• Catchment and River Management

SECTION 1: DRAINAGE SYSTEMS IN SOUTH AFRICA

This section looks at how water flows on and in the earth, how rivers erode and deposit and
flood. Anything to do with the word fluvial has to do with rivers.

1. Draw a river and the area drained by it, from its source (where the river starts) to its
mouth (where the river ends). Include all the main features of the drainage basin in your
drawing.

2. Define the following features of Drainage Basins: catchment area, watershed, source,
mouth, confluence, interfluve, river system, infiltration, water table, surface run-off,
groundwater and tributary

The Hydrological Cycle: water in rivers is one part of the hydrological cycle. Each link
in the cycle impacts the other and for this reason we need to understand the cycle as a
whole to look in more detail at one part of it.

3. Use the key terms given below to illustrate this cycle.

Evaporation: from water to water vapour

Condensation: from water vapour back to water

Precipitation: when rain, hail or snow falls to the ground

Transpiration: the water that evaporates from trees and plants

 Direct or surface runoff: is the water that stays on the surface of the earth after
evaporation.

Indirect runoff or infiltration: is the water that collects in cracks or in the soil. It travels
slowly downwards under the influence of gravity. Eventually it will collect together as
groundwater. The upper-most line which is the start of groundwater is called the water
table.

The water table: This is directly linked to how rivers flow. The processes linked to the
water cycle have been listed below in more detail.

Features of the water table:

◼ Found in the upper level of the zone of saturation
◼ More or less follows the undulations of the landscape
◼ Where it intersects with the surface, rivers, lakes or oases are
formed
◼ It can move up or down depending on if there has been a lot or a
little rain

Rocks that allow water to infiltrate are called aquifers – they will have a high level of:
Permeability: the ability for water to go through the cracks in the rock. [Opposite is
impermeable].
Porosity: the ability for water to go through the air spaces of the soil. [Opposite is non-
porous]
Rocks that will NOT allow water to infiltrate them are called aquicludes.
Where the water table intersects with the Earth’s surface, the groundwater adds to the
surface flow. When this occurs we call it base flow.
Artesian Basins & Artesian Wells: A shallow basin-shaped aquifer surrounded above and
below by rocks that are impermeable to water, so that groundwater confined under pressure
in the aquifer will rise to the surface without the need for pumping if a well is drilled into it.

What Factors Influence Infiltration?

As water flows over the surface of the earth, infiltration into the soil will occur. This water
will eventually seep into the river as ground water and contribute to the base flow of a river.
Base flow = water entering stream channels from groundwater sources in the drainage basin.

4. Name 6 factors that could influence the infiltration rate of water into soil and explain how
these factors would do this in detail. Make reference to how each factor could either
increase or decrease infiltration rates.

The Work Capacity [Energy] of a River: this refers to the river’s ability to erode
and transport.

The amount of energy a river has is determined by:

➢ The gradient: the steeper the gradient, the faster the flow of water, the
more potential it has to erode and transport.
➢ The volume: the greater the volume of water, the greater the potential to
erode and transport.
➢ The shape of the river channel: when water moves in the river channel it
has to overcome the friction with the channel sides and bottom.
➢ The roughness of the river channel: boulders, rocks and vegetation causes
roughness on the channel surface. This increases the friction and reduces
the speed [velocity] of the river. Therefore a smooth channel will have less
friction and have more energy.
Different kinds of rivers: The water flowing in a river is called the discharge and
this may vary from one section in a drainage basin to another in the same drainage basin.
The height of the water table will influence the variation of flow.

5. Redraw the table below and complete it by naming the 4 types of rivers, for each
describe the characteristics of its flow, the characteristics of its water table and give an
example from South Africa.

RIVER TYPE FLOW WATER TABLE EXAMPLE

6. Using the rainfall map of South Africa below, sketch an outline of SA and put where you
think the episodic, periodic and permanent rivers would be found.
Drainage basin systems: Now that we have looked at the river systems in detail lets
look at the drainage systems in detail.

Drainage basins, which are separated by watersheds, can have different shapes based on
the amount of rainfall they experience and therefore the amount of runoff they
experience.
Drainage patterns: this is the pattern that the river makes on the earth’s surface and it is
determined by the relief of the land. You will be asked to identify drainage patterns on
maps and in SA there are 3 common ones (yet 7 patterns in total).

7. Using the patterns named below sketch the pattern and describe the characteristic
rock type that goes with each pattern.

Dendritic, trellis, radial or centrifugal, rectangular, centripetal, deranged, parallel.

Drainage density: is the number of streams within the drainage basin.

8. Write out the formula for drainage density in full.

9. Using the image below, redraw the drainage basin in your workbook and name which
density pattern is medium, high or low underneath it, then describe the differences in
streams and texture of each density.
 10. Complete the mind map below by redrawing it in your books and noting the
differences in the factors affecting drainage density, namely low and high density. Be
as specific as possible.

Stream Ordering: this is another way of describing and comparing drainage basins. Here
the first tributaries are called “first order streams”. When two first order streams join,
they form a “second order stream”. When two second order streams join they form a
“third order stream” and so on.
Bifurcation Ratios: This is the ratio between the number of streams of one order (see
stream order) and those of the next-higher order in a drainage network. It may be a
useful measure of proneness to flooding: the higher the bifurcation ratio, the greater the
probability of flooding.

Looks at the relationship of streams of different orders in the same stream network.
It can show which parts of a drainage basin are prone to flooding. If the bifurcation ratio
of a river network is low then there's a higher chance of flooding as water will be
concentrated in one area rather than spread out as a higher bifurcation ratio would
indicate. It can indicate which parts of a drainage basin are more likely to flood
comparatively by looking at the separate ratios.

Bifurcation ratio = The ratio between the number of streams of one order and those of
the next higher order in a drainage network. Tends towards being roughly constant and
typically ranges between 3 and 5.

Bifurcation ratio has a relatively low value in a flat or rolling terrain (minimum of 2) and
higher (3 or 4) in mountainous areas.

The higher BR the shorter the time will be for discharge to reach the outlet and the
higher will be the peak discharge leading to greater probability of flooding.
BR correlates positively with drainage density i.e. a higher BR indicates a higher drainage
density.

11. What is the equation to calculate the Bifurcation ratio?

12. Use the river image below and first calculate the stream order and then the
Bifurcation ratio for this particular river system.

Discharge of a River: water flows under the influence of gravity. There are two types of
flow, what are they?

13. In your note books redraw and complete the following table: include the name,
definition and illustration of the two flow types below:

FLOW TYPES DEFINITION ILLUSTRATION

Recording Discharge: The discharge of a river is the amount of water that flows past a
point in a river in a defined time. It is measured in cubic metres per second (cumecs). The
formula for measuring the discharge of a river is:
Velocity [speed] in metres per second x cross-section area of the river in m²
Discharge is recorded using a flow hydrograph. This is a graph which shows:
• When the rain fell
• X shows the rising limb of how rapidly the discharge increases
• Peak discharge
• How long it took for the rain to reach the river = lag time
• Y shows when the river burst its banks (bankful)
• The falling limb shows the rate of decrease in the discharge
• When and how long it took for the river to go back to normal flow
• The base flow is the contribution of ground water to the river discharge. It
reaches the river later than surface flow and contributes for a longer
period.
14. in your workbooks redraw the following hydrographs and write next to each image the
factor that has caused the hydrograph to change, use the images provided with your
knowledge to figure this out:
15. Describe, in detail, how the following factors can affect the shape of a hydrograph:
temperature, basin shape, size and relief, soil type, rock type, precipitation types, land
use, and drainage density.

16. Name 2 ways that hydrographs can be used in real life examples and scenarios:
 SECTION 2: FLUVIAL PROCESSES

River profiles:the profile of a river can be illustrated as a transverse profile or a

longitudinal profile.

1. Illustrate these two profile types.

STAGES OF A RIVER: Rivers are looked upon as having 3 stages in their course.
Here is a river starting at its source and flowing to its mouth.

UPPER COURSE:
The upper stage of the river characterised by a deep, narrow V with vertical, downward
erosion into the hard bedrock. There is headward erosion at the source.
River Erosion: Rivers are one of the major agents of erosion of the earth’s surface. They
erode in the following ways:
➢ Hydraulic Action: When the river exerts pressure on the bottom and sides
of the channel. The more water there is, the more it will erode.
➢ Abrasion: This occurs when the load particles of the river, scrape and grind
the sides and bottom of the river channel.
➢ Attrition: When the load particles of the river bump and grind each other,
smoothing their surface and making them smaller.
➢ Corrosion: When the water in the river channel is acidic, it may react with
certain rocks and weather them chemically.

The flow of the river will be turbulent and there will be waterfalls and rapids found along
the river’s course. As the waterfall erodes the hard rock it will be undercut and the
waterfall moves slowly backwards upstream.

Summary of upper course:

• Downward cutting is faster than widening of the river channel
• River twists around obstacles (no time or energy to move them)
• Many interlocking spurs make the river zigzag

MIDDLE COURSE:
Has a wider “U” shape. Here lateral [along the sides] erosion is dominant and the flow of
the river is less turbulent. The gradient of the slope is less steep and the river meanders.
A river cliff and slip-off slope are formed.

The water in the river travels fastest in the middle because there is less friction there as
the diagram show. The darkest blue is the fastest flow:
Summary of middle course:
• River slows down as gradient lessens
• Many tributaries joining main stream = has a larger load
• Erosion occurs on banks where water flows fastest
• Deposition occurs where river flows slowest, the inside of the bends
• V-shape becomes shallower
• Energy used to carry load so less used for erosion.

LOWER COURSE: this has a broad and flat basin shape and deposition is dominant. This is
because the gradient is so gentle that the river no longer has the energy to hold its load.
Flow will be laminar and meanders and ox-bow lakes also occur in this stage as well as
levées, flood plains, braided streams and deltas.

River Deposition: This refers to when the river lays down its load. It will occur when:
➢ There is a change in the gradient: Usually a river rises in the mountains
and ends in the ocean. When it gets to the sea, the gradient is more gentle
and it no longer has the energy to carry its load so it may deposit it as a
delta or as braided streams. Or it may flood and deposit its load as
floodplains and levees. This occurs in the lower course of a river.
➢ There is a change in volume: The amount of material that the river can
transport also depends on how much water there is in the channel. If the
water dries up, its load will also be left.
Summary of lower course:
• Rivers slows as valley bottom is almost flat
• Meanders and sometimes oxbow lakes form
• During flooding coarse material is deposited forming levees
• More deposition occurs than erosion
• Flooding leaves mud on the floodplain
• Deltas form where the river meets the sea or lake

2. Using the diagram below (namely the graphs) to describe the changes in velocity, width,
depth and gradient of the river as it progresses between its three stages
 FLUVIAL LANDFORMS:

Rivers with higher velocities have higher amounts of energy and can transport and
erode at faster rates. Deposition occurs when this velocity slows down. We are going to
be illustrating some of the different landforms for each stage of a river below.

UPPER COURSE:
The landforms created here include waterfalls and rapids, as well as potholes.

Pothole formation:

3. Define a waterfall and a rapid, namely pointing out their differences and similarities:

4. Illustrate the formation process for waterfalls:

MIDDLE COURSE:
The main landforms found in the middle course of a river include meanders, oxbow
lakes, river cliffs and slip-off slopes.

5. Define each of the landforms mentioned above.

6. Illustrate the formation process for meanders (cross sectional view of their migration)
and oxbow lakes (longitudinal profile including the river cliffs and slip-off slopes):
LOWER COURSE:
The lower course of a river is usually characterized by braided stream’s, delta’s,
natural levées, and floodplains.

Formation of Braided streams.

Natural levées formation:

 Delta illustration:

7. Illustrate a cross-section view of a floodplain which includes levees.

Sinuosity: A river's sinuosity is its tendency to move back and forth across its
floodplain, in an S-shaped pattern, over time. As the stream meanders across the flood
plain, it may leave behind scars of where the river channel once was.

Divide the sinuous length of the river by the straight line distance. Sinuosity values
range from 1 to 4. A perfectly straight river will have a sinuosity of 1. Channels with
ratios from 1.1. - 1.5 are called sinuous channels and higher ratios are called meandering
channels.
The Graded River: is one where there is a balance between erosion and deposition and
it produces a smooth concave curve like the one above.

However, sometimes the balance is disturbed when there is a change in the volume,
velocity [speed] or load of the river. Then either erosion or deposition will begin to
dominate and the river will be ungraded. This will change the profile of the river as
shown below.
8. Redraw the table below and compare the two types of rivers
Graded river Ungraded river
Description

The Base Level of a river: this is the lowest level to which a river can erode. Sea level
is regarded as the permanent base level, but there can be temporary base levels such
as:
• a resistant band of rock,
• a dam or lake.

The Hjulström curve, named after Filip Hjulström (1902–1982), is a graph used by
hydrologists and geologists to determine whether a river will erode, transport, or
deposit sediment. The plot shows several key concepts about the relationships between
erosion, transportation, and deposition.

• It shows the relationship between the size of the sediment and the velocity
required to erode (lift it), transport and deposit it.
• The Critical Erosion curve shows the MINIMUM velocity required to lift a
particle of a certain size. Larger particles require more velocity to be lifted
off the river bed.
• The Critical Deposition curve shows the MAXIMUM velocity at which a river
can be flowing before a particle of a certain size is deposited.
• The zone in between is the Transport Zone: note that the velocities are
lower because it takes less energy to maintain the transport than it does to
lift it.
• It takes more energy to erode small particles because they stick together.
9. Using the Hjulström curve describe the difference in erosion, transportation and
deposition of silt versus pebbles.

RIVER REJUVENATION: is an example of how a base level can change and produce an
ungraded longitudinal profile with features called knickpoints along it.

Rejuvenation can occur when either the land is uplifted or when the sea level is
lowered. It causes the river to behave like a river in its upper course again by
increasing its speed and erosion:
 Rejuvenation is associated with features such as:
• A valley in a valley
• incised meanders
• paired terrace

Knickpoint – a break in the slope of a river profile caused by a rejuvenated river. There is
often a waterfall (called a knickpoint waterfall) at this point.

Over time as the new erosion level extends deeper inland, the knickpoint also moves higher
up the valley until it disappears completely and the river shows a smooth profile.

10. What other landforms can be created as a response to river rejuvenation?

RIVER CAPTURE AND ABSTRACTION:

Abstraction of a Drainage Basin: the escarpment forms the main watershed of South
Africa. It separates the Orange [Gariep] River drainage basin from the short, fast-
flowing rivers of the eastern escarpment. Abstraction is when a watershed is cut back
and lowered by highly erosive rivers.
 River Capture or Stream Piracy: this occurs when one river intercepts and diverts
the flow of another river. It occurs when a more energetic and erosive river cuts back
towards its source in a process called headward erosion. When this occurs, the flow of
BOTH rivers is changed. The captor river increases in volume and can erode more while
the misfit river begins deposition as it has decreased in volume.

11. Illustrate the process of river capture:

12. Define the following concepts linked to river capture or piracy: captor stream,
captured stream, misfit stream, elbow of capture and wind gap.

Superimposed and antecedent drainage patterns: sometimes the drainage pattern bears
no resemblance to the landscape over which it flows:

Superimposed Drainage: occurs when the river flows over an area of a previously
formed landscape. The river erodes the sediment covering the landscape and reveals
the structure underneath. In this way the river is younger than the landscape it flows
over.

Antecedent Drainage: occurs when the river formed first and the area where it
flowed over, changed as a result of folding or faulting. As these occurred, the river
continued on its same course, eroding at the same rate. In this way it eroded gaps and
ports. The river is older than the landscape it flows over.
13. Redraw the table below and complete it by comparing superimposed and antecedent
drainage patterns.

Pattern Description Examples in SA

 SECTION 3: CATCHMENT AND RIVER MANAGEMENT

Management of catchment areas is when people try to control or alter the flow of
water, an example would be the irrigation that was done around the Nile in Egypt.

The catchment area is the area that receives rainfall and supplies water to the river.
• Water resources are limited in SA and it is predicted that there will be
severe water shortages by 2025. Management of our catchment areas is
vital for people and sustainable development.
• Catchment management can prevent floods that cause major damage

We all need water to live and South Africa is a dry country. Our annual rainfall is 450mm
compared with the world average of 860mm.
• Every 30 years we are doubling the amount of water that we need for agricultural,
domestic, industrial and mining requirements, so we need to manage our water
resources very carefully so that we don’t run out of it.
• Some areas, especially to the east of South Africa have more water than the drier
areas to the west of the country. Uneven distribution.

1. Give 6 reasons why managing a river or catchment area is important? Be specific.

2. Name as many impacts that you can think of, namely the impacts we as people have on
drainage basins.

Our water needs are growing but our resources are not!
How are our water needs growing?
• Growth of population
• Growth of industry
But we have the same amount of water today as yesterday as we will have tomorrow so
we have to look after what we have sustainably

So who is using this water and how?

3. Draw a pie graph showing the water consumption by sector in SA:

Agriculture: 52% Mining & Industry: 11%
Environment: 19% Domestic Use: 10% Forestry:8%

4. Discussion time: Do we have enough water for everyone to meet their basic needs and
for SA to become a more developed (and therefore wealthier) nation? Is the water
clean so that it is potable?

How is our water managed in SA?

• Government – legislate regarding water and they have appointed 19 Catchment
Agencies to manage our Catchment Areas within the Department of Water Affairs
(DWA). They look after our rivers and have an overall policy.
• Municipalities – buy water from the Catchment Agencies and then are responsible
for getting it to us in our municipal areas. They charge us for the water, fix leaks,
extend and maintain the water pipes, purify dirty water.
• The Department of Water Affairs [DWA] manages our water resources at a
national level while in the provinces our water is managed by 9 catchment
management agencies. A catchment area is an extent of land where water from
precipitation drains into a body of water.
• The National Water Act which contains rules about how water is
protected, conserved, managed and controlled.
• The Services Act which contains rules of how municipalities should provide
potable (drinkable) water and sanitation services to municipal water users.

Certainly the Government and our Municipalities are important in

conserving our water, but we are also responsible for conserving water
both in our homes and businesses. Here are some suggestions of what can
be done to conserve and preserve our precious water resources:
5. Look at the boxes below describing the actions a sector need to take in this process,
then rewrite each box while indicating which sector those responsibilities belong to.
Your options are: Industries, Agriculture, Municipalities, People, Government.

• Plant water-wise plants in parks and along roads

• Clear water-thirsty plants in the area
• Prevent the destruction of wetlands in the area.
• Fix leaking pipes
• Stop the polluting of ground water and rivers.
• Supply treated waste water for industries and agriculture instead of
clean water.

• Help control water-thirsty alien plant vegetation.

• Limit development in areas where there are water shortages.
• Make sure that laws regarding water are obeyed.
• Educate people, farmers and industry about water-wise usage.

• Plant water-wise gardens & plants.

• Use recycled water for gardens.
• Fix leaking pipes and taps.

• Use recycled water.

• Only develop industries where there is a good supply of water.
• Take responsibility for not polluting the environment.
• Encourage water saving and recycling at the factories.
 • Farm crops and livestock that is suited to the climate of the area.
• Use effective irrigation such as drip irrigation (less water is evaporated).
• Do not over-irrigate.
• Protect wetlands on the farms.
• Clear alien vegetation off the farms.

Water Management Areas (WMAs) in SA:

Below is a map showing the major drainage basins in SA:

 Drainage basin Drainage from the river Main tributaries
Gariep Drains 48% of SA into the Atlantic Vaal & Caledon
Limpopo Drains 14% of the country into the Crocodile & Olifants
Indian O.
Rivers of Drains 29% of the country into the Tugela is the
Eastern Indian O. largest
escarpment
Rivers of Cape Drains 9% of the country into both Most important are
fold mountains the Atlantic & Indian Oceans. the Olifants and
Breede Rs

Dams: South Africa has many dams which we use to collect our surface runoff along
the rivers and to act as a flood control. Some of our dams are also able to provide
energy through hydroelectricity and they can be used for recreational activities and
provide water for irrigation and settlements and even as a food source. So there are
many advantages to having dams, but are there any disadvantages?
• Waste large amounts of water through evaporation
• When building a dam, many people are displaced from their homes and
livelihood
• The dams silt up, reducing the volume capacity of the dam
• The ecology of the area is changed and niche habitats destroyed, leading to
potential loss of biodiversity.
• Sometimes water quality is poor as pollution enters the dams

6. What effect does the location of Gariep Dam have on potential evaporation
rates?

Inter-basin water transfer schemes: this involves moving water from places
where there is plenty of water such as Lesotho and KZN to places where there is
less water and lots of people who need it such as Gauteng and CT. Generally the
water is first stored in dams and then moved through a series of pipes,
tributaries and other dams to its destination.

There are 4 main inter-basin water transfer schemes in SA:

• Tugela-Vaal scheme: the Thukela in KZN fills up the Vaal R via
Sterkfontein Dam.
• The Lesotho Highlands Water Scheme: water is transferred from
Lesotho to the Vaal River and Dam.
 • The Gariep River scheme: Eskom generates electricity at Gariep &
Vanderkloof Dams and irrigation water is provided for the E. Cape via the
Orange-Fish tunnel.
• The Palmiet/Boland water scheme: excess water from Palmiet R. is
transferred to Steenbras Dam for CT consumers.

7. Redraw the table below and fill in the positive and negative effects of inter-
basin transfer schemes:

Advantages Disadvantages

Groundwater Supplies: about 10% of our water comes from groundwater. It is

very important in providing rural areas and drier parts of the country with water.
Monitoring the extraction of groundwater is important but does not really
happen in SA. If too much is removed then the water table is lowered and
boreholes and wells cannot be used any longer and the water table takes a long
time to recharge. Overuse of our groundwater for irrigation can also make the
soils salty. If the groundwater is contaminated then it also cannot be used and
Hydraulic Fracturing or “Fracking” is a concern since it may contaminate
groundwater supplies in areas where there is no other water source.

8. Explain the advantages of underground water resources.

Wetlands: These are shown on maps as “marsh and vlei”. They are areas where
the land is generally soggy and plants like rushes and reeds grow in them.
Unfortunately, many areas of wetlands are drained by farmers to use for
agriculture or by developers to build on without them realising how valuable they
are in the general management of our water resources.

9. Wetlands are also important. Can you think of any reasons why?

Natural variation in water supply:

Floods: A flood occurs when a river overflows its banks. This can be caused by
heavy rainfall or by the collapse of dam walls or levees, or tsunamis. They can
 be good for the natural environment because they result in fertile soil being
deposited on the flood plain.

However, they are also extremely dangerous to human life and activities and so
it is important to make plans to control floods:
• Reduce runoff in the upper areas of the river by ensuring that the
slopes are covered by vegetation as this will encourage infiltration
and slow down runoff.
• Contour ploughing of farmlands and using terraces controls surface
runoff.
• Building dams to control the flow of water through an area.
• Building levees that can withstand great pressure and higher levels
of river water.
• Preventing settlement in areas below the floodline.
•
10. Complete the following table in your workbook
Short term impact of floods Long term impact of floods

Preventing or minimising flooding by rivers:

• Study the drainage basin and river system so that plans can be made to
prevent flooding downstream.
• Preserve wetlands
• Position dams correctly so that flood water can be stored and released
slowly downstream.
• Prevent the removal of indigenous vegetation
• Remove alien vegetation especially on river banks (riparian)

Droughts: SA is also prone to droughts as:

• There is an uneven distribution of rainfall
• There are high evaporation rates
• The El Nĩno effect (Gr 11 work)

They have a major impact on the environment, economy and society:

On the Environment:
 ➢ Less rain means less grazing and water for animals.
➢ The water table drops and the roots of plants cannot reach
groundwater.
➢ There is an increase in the salt content of the water (brackish)
➢ Less cloud cover means scorched plants.
➢ Veld fires are more common.
➢ The topsoil is eroded in dust storms.
➢ Natural habitats are destroyed.
➢ Lower yields cause less income and food shortages.
11. In your workbook outline the impact of droughts on the economy and society,
give at least 4 impacts per sector.

Coping with droughts: On-going climatological research has made the predictions
of possible droughts more accurate. This means that measures can be taken to
minimise the effects of drought, such as:
✓ Inter-basin transfer schemes
✓ Reducing the number of livestock before the drought takes hold.
✓ Introducing water restrictions in urban areas before the drought occurs.

Programme to help rivers and catchments:

The River Health Programme:
• This assesses the biological habitats of fish, aquatic organisms and river
vegetation and the general health of the river.
• It makes recommendations to the authorities to achieve the desired health
of the river
• It was implemented by the Department of Water Affairs – DWA and each
province has a network of people involved in monitoring river health.

A Summary of managing catchment areas and river systmems:

▪ We get less rainfall than most places in the world.
▪ We have the same amount of water but increased usage of water because
the population is growing and water is needed for industrial development and
power generation too. Our water needs are doubling every 30 years.
▪ The Government Legislates regarding how we use water. They want enough
water for everyone in SA (equitable water use) and they need to ensure that
future generations have enough water for their needs (sustainable use).
▪ When rain falls it can either go as runoff into our rivers which in turn feed
into our dams OR it can infiltrate where it becomes soil water or
groundwater. Groundwater is pumped up through windpumps or boreholes and
 many communities in SA (notably the Karoo) depend on it. Groundwater also
adds to the base flow of rivers. We need to protect our rivers and
groundwater so that there is ENOUGH water and that water is CLEAN.
▪ The Government has appointed 19 Catchment Agencies to manage our rivers
and water resources.
▪ They sell water to the Municipalities who have to sell the water to us – the
people who use it. Free Basic Water is provided for poor communities who
get 25 litres per person per day free. The money for the FBW has to be got
from somewhere, so the municipalities charge people who can pay more for
their water than the municipality paid for it originally. The municipalities are
also expected to fix leaks, maintain the pipes and system AND extend the
water services to new communities who do not have running water. The
municipalities are also expected to clean the dirty water in water
purification plants before it goes back into the rivers or drains.
▪ Water can be polluted by:
Fertilisers and pesticides/herbicides farmers use – eutrophication
Industrial users that pump heavy metals or chemicals into the water
Acid Mine Drainage of mines that acidifies the water
Settlements which either defecate into the water (ecoli) or near
water sources or where sewage runs directly into streams instead of
being purified. This can lead to cholera or typhus.
Settlements that leave litter and other waste which also degrades
water quality and the natural water life which lives in the river
(biodiversity)

Acid Mine Drainage (AMD)

This is one of the most serious environmental problems in the mining industry. It is a
major problem in the coal and gold mines of SA. It consists of highly acidic water that
contains large concentrations of metals, sulphides and salts resulting from mining
activity.

The acid water drains from underground mine shafts and from open pits and mine
dumps and pollutes rivers into which it seeps resulting in the destruction of aquatic life
in the rivers. In this way it:
• Pollutes our drinking water
• Destroys fish and other animals and plant life in streams (loss of
biodiversity).
• Impacts on our tourism industry because no-one wants to go to these areas.
• Corrodes our waste water pipes
In severe cases water courses have been lost as an economic, industrial and
recreational resource.

The polluted water needs to be desalinated and the most usual way in SA is through
reverse osmosis (RO).

Here water from a pressurised saline solution flows through a water permeable
membrane and is separated from the dissolved salts. The end product is water that is
suitable for human and animal consumption, irrigation or it can be discharged back into
the surface water system.
Potable water = water that can be drunk by people
CASE STUDY: The Wilge River drainage basin

Study the figure of the Wilge River drainage basin in the Free State, South Africa,
and answer the questions that follow:
 1. Select the underlined term or terms to correctly complete the statement. Write only
the number of the question and the correct term, e.g. (i) Water.

(i) The watershed labelled A is the Waterberg / Magaliesberg / Drakensberg. (2)

(ii) The fluvial process you are most likely to encounter at B is transportation /
deposition / lateral erosion. (2)

(iii) The fluvial feature indicated by the dashed line marked C is a/an interfluve / back
marsh / confluence. (2)

(iv) The drainage pattern of the Wilge River is dendritic / trellis / parallel. (2)

2. Study the three hydrographs below:

(i) Choose the hydrograph that best matches the Wilge River system. (2)

(ii) Account for your answer to Question 2. (i). (4)

(iii) Explain how urban sprawl in towns like Harrismith and Bethlehem affects the
discharge and lag time of a hydrograph. (4)

(iv) The Wilge River is the main feeder river to the Vaal Dam from the Lesotho
Highlands Water Scheme. Elaborate on the importance of drainage basin management
schemes such as the Lesotho Highland Water Scheme to Johannesburg residents and
the industries in the area. (6)

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