Aquaquest Ltd. was subcontracted by NIRAS-IP Consult GmbH to carry out hydrological assessments for five existing earth dams in Southern Province of Zambia. The study was part of the AWARE (Accelerating Water and Agricultural Resources Efficiency) project, funded by GIZ. The AWARE project intends to rehabilitate and improve selected earth dams and establish integrated demonstration sites, where smallholders can be trained on the efficient use of water resources as an adaptation measure to climate change. The objective of the study is to carry out detailed situational analysis of the earth dams including hydrological and hydrogeological assessments of the respective catchment areas. The 5 earth dams were earmarked as potential demonstration sites within the AWARE Programme area.
The assessment included a hydro(geo-)logical characterization of the dams, the reservoir sites, and their upstream catchments. In addition, ESIAs were carried out for the proposed improvement and enhancement works at each of the 5 dam sites.
