Directorate: Curriculum FET

GEOGRAPHY GRADE 10
TERM 4 WEEK 1 LESSON 1
TOPIC Water management:
Rivers, lakes and dams in South Africa; Factors influencing the availability of water in South Africa.
AIMS OF LESSON To understand the provision of water and factors affecting the availability of water in South Africa.
RESOURCES Paper based resources Digital resources
Refer to your textbook: Use the following links:
Read the topic on water management;
Study the major rivers, lakes and dams in
South Africa.
Study the factors affecting availability of
water in South Africa.
INTRODUCTION • Why is water important for living organisms?
• Is water evenly distributed in South Africa and do all living organisms have equal access to
water?
CONCEPTS AND SKILLS The: CAN YOU?
• major rivers and dams and where they are. • Name the major rivers and dams?
• distribution of water. • Distinguish between provision and
• factors influencing water availability e.g. distribution of water in South
climate, land use practices, human activities Africa?
contribution to climate change. • Can you give reasons why the
factors affecting the availability of
water is so important?

ACTIVITIES/ Complete the attached activities as well as those in your textbook.

ASSESSMENT
CONSOLIDATION • Complete the activities.
• Study the information sheet on water in South Africa.
• This information is important to understand human rights in terms of provision of water.
VALUES It is important to understand the factors that affect the availability of water as well as their
consequences for humans.

1
 Water management in South-Africa:
Provision of water and the factors influencing the availability of water in South Africa
What is it? South Africa’s water resource is limited and therefore it is known as a dry country. South
Africa’s overall average rainfall is about 496 mm of rain per annum.

The rainfall is not evenly distributed, 65% of the country receives less than 500 mm rain
per annum, and 21% of the country receives less than 200 mm rain per annum. The
water received must be managed in such a way that everybody receives enough
water to survive.

Below is a map that shows the rainfall distribution of South Africa

Source X-Kit Geography

2
Where is it? Below is a map of the main rivers of South Africa. Compare it with the maps in your
textbook.

Source: X-kit Geography

Study the map of important dams in South Africa.

Source: Mediahack.co.za
Lake Fundudzi in the Venda region of Limpopo province is one of the few natural lakes
in South Africa.

3
Why is it there? The largest dams of South Africa are mainly in the central and eastern side of the
country. They are storage facilities from where water is gradually released to supply
water to areas with water shortages.

Factors influencing Distribution of rainfall:

availability of water. The rainfall increases from west to east in South Africa. The rainfall fluctuates from as
low as 200 mm per annum to as high as 1000 mm per annum in the high lying areas. It is
illustrated in the map below.

4
Groundwater availability:
A substantial amount of rain infiltrates into the ground and becomes groundwater. This
groundwater is used by communities and withdrawn by means of boreholes and wind
pumps. This is a way to supply water. The disadvantage is that during times of low
rainfall too much of the water can be extracted which causes the boreholes to
become dry.
Evaporation:
Summer temperatures in South Africa is often above 30°C with relative long periods of
sunshine, about 8 hours. This combination causes the evaporation rate to be high with
the result that a lot of the surface water evaporates.
Land use practices:
Alien vegetation uses more water than indigenous vegetation. The result is that the
alien plants use water earmarked for indigenous animals and plants.
The incorrect agricultural methods can lead to chemical pollution of water and
groundwater making it unusable for living organisms.
The surfaces in cities consist of concrete, cement and tar which cause most of the
water to run-off into pipes or rivers without being able to infiltrate or contribute to
groundwater.
Water from urban areas is often polluted and requires expensive treatment before it
can be suitable for human consumption.

The effect of human activities:

5
 Industry and mining may result in severe pollution of the water supply. Acidic water from
abandoned mines contains poisonous elements. This water is not suitable for human
consumption. Industrial pollutants include hazardous chemicals that contaminate the
water supply.
Certain agricultural practices cause excess irrigation water to contain fertilizers,
insecticides and pesticides. This pollutes the water which is harmful for plants and
humans.
How does this influence us? The demand for water increases every day and the limited resources require that it is
well managed.
As more people move to urban areas and the concentration of people increases, the
bigger the need for water. The citizens of Cape Town and other towns in the Western
Cape were very aware of this fact during 2019.

Consolidation Activity Grade 10 Term 4 Week 1

Study the maps below and answer the questions that follow.

1. Which river has the most dams?

2. Which South African river has the largest catchment area?
3. Which province is the driest?
4. Which province receives the most rainfall?
5. Which province has no large dams?
6 Give a possible reason why this province has no dams.
7 Where is the only natural lake in South Africa?

6
8 Name the province with the largest water storage capacity.
9 Does this province use all the water? Give two reasons for your answer.
10. Name the different ways that people use to source water in the Northern Cape.
11 How is water transported to certain areas in the Northern Cape? (Hint study the map of the rivers)
12 Name two other factors, except dams and rivers, which influence the provision of water.
13 Explain how cities the groundwater of the area disadvantage.
14 Explain how urban areas place more pressure on the available water resources.
15 Use your experience of last year (2019) and describe some of the measures that were used to ensure that
everybody received water in the Western Cape.