The Effect of Metolong Lowlands Water Supply Scheme (MLWSS) on the livelihoods of the catchment communities

Abstract

Many developing countries are branded by high levels of poverty and water-borne diseases caused mainly by water shortage. There are diverse factors that cause water shortage in many developing countries and erratic climatic changes are some of them. Severe drought is identified as the leading factor. Various measures are applied to resolve the state of water shortage in these countries and construction of dams/reservoirs to create water supply schemes is the overriding measure. The Lesotho Government has constructed several dams to secure availability of water since the mid-1980s. The Metolong Lowlands Water Supply Scheme (MLWSS) was constructed and implemented from 2008 to 2015 and is expected to make available 75,000 m3 of treated water per day to respond to the shortage of water and industrial requirements for at least the next 40 years in the urban-lowlands areas of Maseru and the neighbouring towns as a result of an increasing water demand for domestic consumption and industrial use including urbanization in the Lowlands. This profoundly study aims to investigate the effect of the Metolong Lowlands Water Supply Scheme (MLWSS) on the livelihood of the communities in the catchment areas to achieve the following objectives: The effect of MLWSS on the livelihoods of the catchment communities, the people’s coping mechanisms of the in the catchment areas and the challenges of the unconnected households. The findings from this study indicate that MLWSS is beneficial to the households within the four concerned councils: Qiloane, Manonyane, Mohlakeng and Mazenod. The government provides them with water access which they would otherwise be unable to access. However, the problem still lies with those who are not connected to the supply network. This has improved the livelihood for many households because they were able to engage in other (new) means of livelihood to sustain their family needs. The data obtained from the selected study councils indicates that water and land are important requirements for agricultural production and other commercial engagements such as bricks production and car washing. Irrespective of whether agriculture is for subsistence or commercial, water and land prove to be the fundamental pre-conditions of effective agricultural production. The study reveals that some households adjacent to the water belt were not connected to the water supply. Consequently, they resorted to illegal connections to survive.