An Overview Of The Salinization Problem In The
Berg River Catchment (South Africa)
Author(s)
W. P. De Clercq, M. V. Fey & N. Z. Jovanovic
Abstract
The Berg River and the salt load in it have been researched since the 1970s and
various myths or misconceptions about the origin of salt in this catchment were
gradually taken care of. The Berg River is a prominent river of the Western Cape
Province of South Africa and also an important water supply system of this
province. Equally important is the agricultural industry of this region that is
totally dependent on water from this system. Therefore salinity that plagues the
usefulness of this water is of increased importance to this community. Initially,
research aimed at discovering the role irrigated agriculture played in the
movement of salts toward the river. During the past 8 years, the role of dryland
salinity was investigated. This was done through careful mapping of the region
(geology, rainfall distribution, evapotranspiration, aridity index, vegetation, land
use and groundwater quality), intensive monitoring at localized experimental
sites and the application of hydrological modelling. From this research, a number
of findings were documented that changed our perception about salinity in this
landscape. Firstly, dryland salinity was identified as the major contributor to
salinization in this landscape. Secondly, the source of salts occurs at the interface
of an extensive, deeply weathered recharge zone, with silcrete remnants,
overlying kaolinized Malmesbury shales with very low hydraulic conductivity.
Thirdly, much of the salinity in the landscape could be derived from marine
aerosols and rain, concentrated through evaporation, as salinity was related to
climatic conditions, soils and geology. Follow-up research is currently under
way to investigate the impacts of different land uses on salt discharge and water
quality, and to recommend the most suitable land uses that would reduce
salinization of the Berg River for regulatory purposes.
Keywords: Berg river catchment, dryland salinity, regolith.
Keywords
Berg river catchment, dryland salinity, regolith
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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