Abstract
Zambezi River Basin is located in Southern Africa. It is essential for the economy of its eight riparian countries. The delta and almost 11% of its total catchment area are located in Mozambique. The main stream of the river receives a run-off contribution of 1800 m3/s in Mozambique and reaches the ocean with a flow of about 4100 m3/s. Coal mining is developing fast in the Zambezi River Basin in Mozambique due to favourable geological conditions. The coal mining and other activities have an impact on the surface and groundwater quality of the river basin. ARA-Zambeze is the river basin organization responsible for the water quality monitoring in Zambezi River Basin in Mozambique. In spite of limited resources ARA-Zambeze performs surveillance monitoring, while the institutions influencing the water quality of the river are doing operational monitoring. In this paper a monitoring system for the Zambezi River Basin in Mozambique is proposed. The system includes two alternative monitoring procedures. One procedure considers improvement of the current situation, which is characterized by multiple actors doing monitoring in isolation, by standardizing the analytical methods and improving data sharing through a web-based reporting system. The other proposed monitoring procedure considers a centralized approach, by having a consulting company doing the monitoring for the whole river basin in Mozambique. The second option has the advantages of improving consistency and comparability of the data, thereby allowing for more accurate trend analyses. It is concluded that the best way forward is to implement the first procedure and slowly move to the second.
Highlights
Mozambique is a developing country and its economy was based on agriculture until the 1990s
This paper describes the actual situation of water quality monitoring in Zambezi River Basin and brings up the key issues for the establishment of a water quality monitoring programme in the context of coal mining development and other activities which may impact the water quality
The coal mining companies have some records of water quality analysis that includes more parameters, such as alkalinity, and these data are published in the environmental assessment reports [11]. These results show that the pH of the water in the Zambezi River Basin in Mozambique is almost neutral and most of the other monitored parameters are in the standard the Mozambican and South African legislation [10]
Summary
Mozambique is a developing country and its economy was based on agriculture until the 1990s. Geological surveys showed that Mozambique was rich with mineral resources such as coal, gas, and heavy mineral sands. This led to the development of large scale mining since 2000s. There are three major coal reserves in the Tete Province, Mozambique. This province is located within the largest river basin, the Zambezi River Basin, in Southern Africa, which sustains life for about 30 million people in the riparian countries. Large scale coal mining and associated activities may have negative impacts on the water quality of the river, affecting the environment and human health
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