Letsibogo Dam

The Letsibogo Dam is a dam on the Motloutse River in Botswana, built to initially provide water to the industrial town of Selebi-Phikwe and surrounding local areas, with potential for use in irrigation. The dam now supplies Gaborone, the capital of the country, via a pipeline, as well as major villages along the pipeline route.Location and climateThe dam is located near the village of Mmadinare. The climate is tropical and semi-arid, with 90% of rainfall during the period from November to March. Mean annual precipitation is about in the catchment area above the dam. It is very variable, with rainfall less than 40% of the average expected in one year in seven. In August 2012 the dam was only one third full, prompting concerns that there could soon be water shortages in the areas of the areas of Palapye, Mahalapye and Gaborone. Some blamed the problem in part to slow repair of leaking pipelines.Structure and operationsThe dam was designed for the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources by Arup, who also supervised construction of the water storage embankment and central clay-core dam. It has storage capacity of. It is operated by the Water Utilities Corporation. The dam is part of the North-South Carrier Water Project, which includes other dams, water transmission systems and water treatment works, bringing water from the northeast of Botswana to the southeast. It is linked to Gaborone by a pipeline. The initial North South Carrier Scheme cost about US$350 million, and came into operation in 2000.