- This as elephants continue to cause damage to water infrastructure
Due to constant challenges in water supply to the seven villages of Dukwi, Sowa, Nata, Maposa, Manxotae and Sepako due to the damage caused by elephants at the Dukwi water storage reservoirs, Water Utilities Corporation has said it is in talks with the department of Wildlife and National Parks to consider drilling boreholes for the jumbos.
With the heightened El Nino induced drought ravaging most parts of the Southern Africa, Botswana has seen severe effects, leading to increased human/wildlife conflicts. Being home to the highest elephant numbers in the world – Botswana has seen elephants encroaching in human areas in search of water and food.
Where there are water infrastructures, elephants have targeted and destroyed them to get water – and these include digging up pipelines and destroying water storage facilities in those areas.
According to Peter Sedingwe, Strategy & Corporate Affairs Director at Water Utilities Corporation (WUC), elephants have been damaging water storage tanks at Dukwi waterworks that supplies water to Dukwi, Sowa, Nata, Maposa, Manxotae and Sepako villages.
This damage, has cost the corporation over P150 000 in repairs in the last three months, including the cost of maintaining the electric fence which is meant to deter elephants from entering the tank sites.
While Sedingwe maintains that incidents of elephants damaging pipelines were not common in the area, it has become common to see elephants along the Nata –Dukwi area, and of recent along the Sowa road, and seeming drinking water from the pipeline breathers.
“Pipeline damage is a rare occurrence and the last time it occurred was in 2021 and the repair cost was around P30 000,” Sedingwe revealed.
As a long term solution, Sedingwe said WUC is in discussions with Department of Wildlife and National Parks for the department to consider drilling boreholes for elephants so that they do not stray and reach areas where there is water supply infrastructure.
“The Corporation installed an electric fence at Dukwi waterworks as a deterrent. The Corporation is also in the process of constructing elephants’ spikes around the Dukwi Waterworks site as part of the improvement under Sowa Water Supply Scheme,” he said.
Meanwhile the corporation had not responded to this publication’s enquiry about elephant damage to the pipeline along the A3 road between Motopi and Phuduhudu where elephants have literally taken over the infrastructure and turning the area into a water oasis, which has become handy for other animal species.
