Usangu Research Articles

Subsurface basement structures of Usangu basin, East African rift system, with implications for basin structural configuration and hydrocarbon potential

The Usangu basin is a rift basin developed along the Eastern arm of the East African rift system trending in the NE-SW direction. Although the general structures of the basin have been well studied, the structural configuration of the basin and the spatial and depth variations of sediment thickness are still not well known. This study investigates the structures in relation to basement configuration and the variation of sediment thickness within the basin using the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Digital Elevation Model (DEM), aeromagnetic and gravity data. Results from DEM data indicate a few lineaments on the basin flanks representing the Usangu and Chimala border faults with no structures in the central part of the basin. The aeromagnetic and gravity data highlight three sets of normal and strike-slip faults, most of which trend NE-SW and others NNE-SSW, while a few trend WNW-ESE or NW-SE. Structures on the southwest of the basin reveal complex patterns attributed to the concentration of important tectonic and seismic activities in the study area. The Euler deconvolution and gravity models used to calculate the depth to the basement show that the basement is shallow in the north and south to southwest, and the basin deepens in the northeastern, northwestern and western parts. The findings also reveal that the basin has two grabens, troughs, depression and intrabasinal basement trending in the same direction as the basin configuration. The general thickness of sediments filling the basin ranges from 3 to 4.5 km, with the maximum accumulation of sediments reaching up to 4.8 km in the two depocenters at the south and southwest of the basin. The depth range of the sediments obtained implies that the basin has potential for hydrocarbon exploration with the possibility of natural gas occurrence.

Analysis of Water Exchange Processes between Groundwater and Surface Water in the Usangu Plains, Tanzania

Analysis of Water Exchange Processes between Groundwater and Surface Water in the Usangu Plains, Tanzania

Water Governance in Tanzania – A Synthesis of Legal and Institutional Frameworks for Groundwater Management in the Upper Great Ruaha River Catchment

The importance of groundwater resources in buffering the effects of climate change on water scarcity and security is highly acknowledged worldwide. However, groundwater development and use can only be sustainable with a more robust policy and institutional arrangements related to water governance. The purpose of this study was to analyse the legal framework of water resource development and management in order to contribute in identifying policy constraints to sustainable groundwater resource development and management in Tanzania. The paper used information from literature reviews and data collected through qualitative methods using a case study of Usangu Plains in the Upper Great Ruaha River Catchment in Tanzania. The findings reveal that water governance institutional frameworks are well structured to provide guidelines on how water as a basic human resource can be utilised and properly managed, but most importantly, these institutional arrangements place disproportionate emphasis on groundwater. Attaining sustainable groundwater development and use requires new disclosures and narratives in water policy and law, integrating both surface and groundwater resources. The weaknesses identified in groundwater governance need to be taken on Board once, the existing water institutional frameworks open to perfection for sustainable utilisation of groundwater resources

Seismotectonics and active faulting of Usangu basin, East African rift system, with implications for the rift propagation

Seismicity and focal mechanisms within the NE-SW extending Usangu basin of the Western branch, north to northeast of the Rungwe Volcanic Province (RVP) southern Tanzania were determined from data recorded on temporary SEGMeNT and permanent AfricaArray seismic stations. The aim of the study has been to investigate stress regime and evaluates the role played by the Usangu basin in accommodating the relative movement between the two sub-basins of the Rukwa rift and the Malawi rift. Results show that most of the seismicity (~70%) concentrates along the Usangu border fault. A lesser amount of seismicity (~30%) is found within the basin and in the southwestern end of the basin towards the RVP. These findings suggest that the Usangu border fault, intrabasinal and transfer faults within the basin are associated with the seismic activities. This implies ongoing active deformation within the basin, which is accommodated by slip on the Usangu border fault system and seismicity associated with intrabasinal faults could indicate the temporal strain migration from the border fault. Although it has previously been suggested that the Eastern branch propagates southeasterly towards the coast, however, given the dense and long deployment of seismic station within the study area the possibility of second propagation of the Eastern branch towards the RVP in the Western branch cannot be ruled out. The seismicity therefore indicates that the Western branch could likely link with the Eastern branch via a wide zone of deformation combining the Mamizi-Kilombero-Ruhuhu fault zone and the zone of Mtera-Ruaha-Usangu rift graben, Focal mechanisms along the Usangu border fault and transfer faults within the basin show a combination of normal faulting and strike slip motion indicating extension with sinistral and dextral components of motion, consistent with palaeostress data and the strike slip deformation within the basin through accommodating the relative movement between the southern-most sub-basin of the Rukwa rift and northern-most sub-basin of the Malawi rift.

Characterization of land use influence on soil phosphate bioavailability in Usangu agro-ecosystem-Tanzania

Phosphorus (P) is an important nutrient required for plant growth. Land use influences concentration and bioavailability of P in agricultural soils. About 198 soil samples (0-30 cm soil depth) were collected from three land-use types (maize, paddy, and conserved areas) in Usangu basin located in Southern Highland Tanzania. The concentration of soil P determined were compared among different land-use types and locations. The total P (TP), complexed (Po), and bioavailable P (B-P) were measured. The concentration of TP and B-P was determined by acid digestion and Mehlich 3 method, respectivelly, The Po concentration in soil extract was obtained by subtracting B-P from TP. TP, B-P and Po concentration in collected soils samples were in range of; Total P (63.12-1350.9 mg/kg), Bioavailable P (0.52-49.87 mg/kg), and complexed P (62.60-1301.03 mg/kg). The cropping area had high TP but very low B-P, especially in paddy farming areas indicating cropping and associated activity decrease bioavailable P in agricultural soils. Furthermore, soils from cropping areas had higher Al, Fe, and Mg concentrations than conserved areas, which caused a substantial reduction in B-P due to increased P fixation and adsorption. It is important to note that converting natural land to farming land could potentially influence soil P dynamics thus affecting P bioavailability, crop productivity, and environmental safety.

Land Management Systems and Their Environmental Impacts in the Usangu Plains, Tanzania

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Performance Evaluation of Smallholder Irrigation Schemes in the Usangu Plains, South-West Tanzania

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Land use patterns influence the distribution of potentially toxic elements in soils of the Usangu Basin, Tanzania

Spatial distribution of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) in agricultural soils in Usangu Basin (Mbeya Region)-Tanzania were conducted. The study included three land-use types (paddy farming, maize farming, and conserved community forest areas). About 198 soil samples were collected from November to December 2019 across contrasting land management schemes (Group I dominated by agricultural areas versus Group II dominated by residential and agricultural areas). Total (aqua regia extracts) and bioavailable (Mehlich 3 extracts) PTEs concentrations were analyzed. For Group I and II areas, total and bioavailable concentrations (mg/kg dry weight, mean values) of some PTEs were: chromium 1662 ± 5.2 μg/kg for Group I and 1307 ± 3.9 μg/kg for Group II (Total), 55.1 ± 37.1 μg/kg for Group I and 19.2 ± 21.6 μg/kg for Group II (bioavailable); and lead 5272 ± 1650 μg/kg for Group I and 6656 ± 1994 μg/kg for Group II (Total), 1870 ± 800 μg/kg for Group I and 1730 ± 530 μg/kg for Group II (bioavailable). Soil total PTEs such as cadmium and lead were generally lower in Group I areas than in Group II areas. The reverse scenario was observed for copper. Farming areas had high PTEs concentration than non-farming areas because of anthropogenic activities. Overall, soil total concentrations of Fe (99.5%), As (87%), Se (66%), and Hg (12%) were above Tanzanian Maximum Allowable Limits. This study provides essential baseline information to support environmental risk assessment of PTEs in Tanzanian agro-ecosystem.

Characterization of soil phosphate status, sorption and saturation in paddy wetlands in usangu basin-Tanzania

Phosphorus (P) is a vital plant macronutrient required for plant growth which usually available in limited amount. P availability for plant uptake in highly weathered soil is controlled by soil erosion and high fixation. The availability of P applied from fertilizers depend on the soil pH, soil sorption capacity (PSC) and P saturation status (PSD), which determines P storage, losses, fixation, and additional P to be added with minimal loss to the environment. PSC and PSD are agro-environmental indicators used to estimate P availability and P loss to the environment. However, PSC and PSD of agricultural soils had been never studied in Tanzanian soils. This study was conducted to assess and estimate P availability, PSC and PSD and the risks of P losses in tropical soils from Usangu basin popular for paddy farming. In total, 198 soil samples from 10 paddy irrigation schemes were collected (November–December 2019) and analyzed for inherent P (PM3), metal oxides of Aluminium (Al M3), iron (Fe M3), and calcium (Ca M3) as main PSC and PSD determinant. The determined concentrations were in range of; P M3 014.9–974.69 mg/kg, Al M3 234.56–3789.36 mg/kg, Fe M3 456.78–2980.23 mg/kg, and Ca M3 234.67–973.34 mg/kg. Estimated PSCM3 ranged 5.62–34.85 mmol/kg with a mean value of 14.14 mmol/kg corresponding to high status, ensuring high P holding capacity for plant uptake. However, some soils had very low PSCM3 creating a risk of P loss to environment. Among soils, the estimated PSD M3 ranged from 0.01 to 17.57% and was below (<24%), indicating low P loss risks to surface and groundwater, however, some soils were observed to have PSDM3 above 15% which correspond to a critical degree of phosphate saturation of 25% in a watershed using oxalate extraction method. Therefore some sites were associated with high P loss to the environment, immediate and precautionary actions for sustainable P management to increase productivity, environmental safety and sustainability are needed to be in place.

Reinstating Local Agency: Origins and Development of Irrigated Rice Production in the Usangu Plains, 1920s to 1960

Many colonial scholars in the 20th century pointed out that agriculture was introduced in the continent from outside, basically Europe and Asia. They refused to accept that African ingenuity had a role to play in the development of agriculture. Premised on this line of thinking, many scholars who studied the Usangu Plains attributed the introduction and development of rice production in the plains to the Baluchi. Drawing from archival, oral and secondary written sources, and working within the framework of local agency and political economy theories, this paper argues that contrary to the popular notions that have attributed irrigated rice farming to the Baluchi community, the establishment of irrigated rice farming in the region was primarily an indigenous initiative of the Sangu. It further recognizes the role-played by the British colonial state in the expansion of irrigated rice farming which has seldom been accounted for by scholars who studied the area under study.

Contested waterscapes: Irrigation and hydropower in the Great Ruaha River Basin, Tanzania

This interdisciplinary research examines contemporary discourses regarding causality of hydrological change within the Great Ruaha River Basin, Tanzania. Of particular significance is the allocation of water for upstream rice irrigation in the Usangu Plains, and downstream requirements of the Mtera-Kidatu hydropower system. Tension between these two users was initially brought into focus during the mid-1990s, when low river flows into the Mtera reservoir led to a decrease in hydropower generation. Increasing seasonal water scarcity has subsequently become a normality in the basin. Interviews with actors highlighted a number of causalities for hydrological change. The most commonly cited causalities are an increase in the area and water use inefficiency of traditional smallholder irrigation, which represents the contemporary sanctioned discourse. This is interpreted as an exertion of power by the government and other actors in blaming upstream farmers, setting the limits upon which policies and plans should be pursued. A number of marginal discourses offering alternative explanations are advocated by coalitions of actors. Causalities and management solutions are considered within the water governance arena, determined by institutional arrangements, technical issues, economic and socio-political dimensions governing water use and allocation. Water allocation represents a temporal and spatial hydro-political balancing act for the government. On the one hand, promoting upstream agriculture-based livelihoods and sustaining the farmer vote; whilst on the other hand, avoiding downstream hydropower generation failure with associated political ramifications and negative economic consequences. Midstream environmental flow requirements of the Ihefu wetland and Ruaha National Park have been demoted to secondary hydro-political significance. In order to understand actual causalities of hydrological change, studies should be conducted and considered without being subjected to quasi-science and actor appropriation to serve partisan and self-interests. A greater egalitarian approach would help to bring all actors together to promote common management solutions for the equitable allocation of water in the basin.

The Mbarali Chinese Rice Farm and its Environmental Menace in the Usangu Plains, 1971 to the mid-1980s

For a long time, the Mbarali Rice Farm in the Usangu Plains has been portrayed as a success story of the Chinese establishment in Tanzania. The farm has been associated with development and expansion of rice farming, population growth, development of rice agricultural infrastructures in the region and with an increased food production nationwide. However, its history and the environmental cost of such development in the region have rarely been scrutinised. Drawing on archival and oral sources, this paper argues that the Mbarali Rice Farm constructed in Chinese model has brought substantial environmental impact such as weeds (wild rice) invasion in the region, water use change, floods and loss of biodiversity, consequently leading to its ecological decline.

The impact of future climate and land use/cover change on water resources in the Ndembera watershed and their mitigation and adaptation strategies

BackgroundLand use/cover and climate changes have a great influence on the hydrological processes in the watershed. The impacts of land use/cover and climate change are set to increase in the future due to the increased clearance of virgin forest lands for agriculture and the rise of global warming. The way in which the future climate will interact with the land use changes and affect the water balance in the watersheds requires more attention. This study was carried out in the Ndembera river watershed in Usangu basin, Tanzania, whereby the Soil and Water Assessment Tool was used to (i) assess the impact of near future (2010–2039) climate and 2013–2020 land use/cover change on the water balance and streamflow and (ii) evaluate the effectiveness of four land and water management practices as the mitigation and adaptation strategies for the impacts of climate and land use/cover changes. The 2020 land use/cover was predicted using Markov Chain and Cellular Automata models based on 2006 and 2013 land use/covers. The near-future climate scenario was generated from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 General Circulation Models.ResultsDuring the period from 2013 to 2020, the agricultural land and evergreen forests will increase by nearly 10 and 7%, respectively. Mixed forests will decrease by 12%. Such land use/cover changes will decrease the total water yield by nearly 13% while increasing evapotranspiration and surface runoff by approximately 8 and 18%, respectively. This moisture balance changes will be aggravated by warmer near-future mean annual temperatures (1.1 °C) and wetter conditions (3.4 mm/year) than in the baseline period (1980–2009). The warmer future climate will increase evapotranspiration and decrease water yield by approximately 35 and 8%, respectively. The management practices such as filter strips can reduce the annual evapotranspiration by 6%, and increase stream-flow by 38% in February.ConclusionThe future land use/cover changes will interact with the near-future warmer temperatures and reduce water availability in the Ndembera watershed. Land and water management practices have great potential to mitigate the impacts of future climate and land use/cover changes on water resource, thus increasing its availability.

Restoring the perennial Great Ruaha River using ecohydrology, engineering and governance methods in Tanzania

The Great Ruaha River (GRR) in Tanzania was perennial before 1993. Its source, the Usangu wetlands, was also perennial. Since then, the GRR has started drying out during the dry season, with a trend towards earlier and longer periods of drying. This drying process degrades the surrounding ecosystems along the entire length of the GRR, including the Ruaha National Park (RNP) and impacts human livelihoods throughout its course; it also impairs the economy of Tanzania through reduced hydropower generation at the Mtera and Kidatu power plants. The Usangu wetlands dried up in 2000, 2002 and 2005 during the dry season and its areal extent has been shrinking. Intensive livestock grazing and both dry and wet season irrigated agriculture in the Usangu wetlands, were the main reasons for this water crisis. In 2006, the Government of Tanzania moved to address the crisis by removing livestock from the Usangu wetlands, attempting to regulate water use in the GRR catchment and expanding the RNP to include the Usangu wetlands.The present study uses satellite radar altimetry data dated 1992 to 2015 for the Usangu wetlands, verified using data from water level loggers, to assess the effects of these hydrological changes. The combined data sets show that the perennial Usangu wetlands have become re-established, though somewhat diminished in size, and that as a result of eutrophication from fertilizers leached from irrigated fields, 95% of their surface is now covered by floating vegetation, resulting in reduced loss of water by evaporation. This reduction has extended the water flow to the GRR by one to two months. These figures highlight the important role played by the wetlands vegetation in controlling the water budget.The hydrological model of the Usangu wetlands was further developed and verified, and then used to justify the construction of a low-level V-notch weir at the outlet of the Usangu wetlands; by slowing down the outflow from the wetlands, this construction would reduce the period of zero flow in the GRR during the dry season by one to two months. Additional ecohydrological solutions based on the improvement of water governance upstream of the Usangu wetlands, such as controlling rice and horticultural irrigation activities along the length of the GRR, should be integrated with this engineering solution; this would meet the hydrological needs of the water users all along the GRR.

Informing regional water-energy-food nexus with system analysis and interactive visualization – A case study in the Great Ruaha River of Tanzania

In sub-Saharan Africa, water resources are scarce and subject to competing uses – especially for agricultural production, energy generation, and ecosystem services. These water intensive activities in the Usangu plains and the Ruaha National Park in southern Tanzania, present a typical case for such water competition at the water-energy-food nexus. To decipher the coupled human-nature interactions in the Great Ruaha River basin and effectively communicate the results to non-technical practitioners, the water-energy-food nexus competition in the system is simulated using an advanced water system modeling approach and findings are visualized via interactive web-based tools (Data-Driven Document, D3) that foster fuller understanding of the findings for both practitioners and stakeholders. Our results indicate that a combination of infrastructural and procedural measures, each acceptable from a social and economic perspective, and understanding that zero flows cannot be totally eliminated during dry years in the Ruaha National Park, are likely to be the best way forward. This study also reveals that the combination of improvements in irrigation efficiency, cutbacks on proposed expansion of irrigated lands, and a low head weir at the wetland outlet, significantly reduces the number of zero flow days (i.e., increasing ecosystem function), resulting in positive effects on agricultural sector from limited (if any) reduction in rice crop yields. These upstream measures are all relatively cost efficient and can combine to free-up resources for other economic activity downstream (i.e. more stable hydropower production).

Monitoring Restoration of the Eastern Usangu Wetland by Assessment of Land Use and Cover Changes

Conflicting interests in the use and management of wetlands have always resulted in their degradation. The degradation of wetlands affects their natural functioning, environmental health and livelihood of the people who depend on them. The eastern Usangu wetland has suffered a lot from multiple-use pressure arising from both national and local interests. As a result, the government banned the use of the wetland in 2006 to support its restoration process. The aim of the current study was to assess the restoration process of the eastern Usangu wetland using time-series Landsat images over a 20-year period, from 1995 to 2015. Cross-tabulation of composite NDVI images was used to examine the changes. The results indicate that the land cover declined by 20% between 1995 and 2005, and increased by more than 25% between 2005 and 2015. The size of the permanent swamp increased consistently, by more than 15% between 1995 and 2015. Wetland use has declined to about 15% over the 20 years. Wetland restoration seems to be a slow process that depends on multiple factors. It thus is important that wetlands are managed well for sustained benefits, rather than waiting to rescue them in a crisis. The well-being of the people depending on the wetlands should be considered when implementing measures to protect the wetlands. Awareness creation among the users, diversification of sources of income and enforcement of the laws and policies governing the use of wetlands by the government may improve status of wetlands.

Institutions, Security, and Pastoralism: Exploring the Limits of Hybridity

Abstract:This article furthers our understanding of how state and citizens interact to produce local institutions and examines the effects of these processes. It brings critical institutional theory into engagement with ideas about everyday governance to analyze how hybrid are formed through bricolage. Such a perspective helps us to understand governance as both negotiated and structured, benefiting some and disadvantaging others. To explore these points the article tracks the evolution of the Sungusungu, a hybrid pastoralist security institution in the Usangu Plains, Tanzania. It also considers the wider implications of such hybrid for livelihoods, social inclusion, distributive justice, and citizenship.Resume: Cet article approfondit notre perception de la maniere dont l'etat et les citoyens interagissent lors de la creation d'institutions locales et il examine egalement les consequences de ces interactions. Nous instituons un dialogue entre la critique theorique institutionnelle et les idees sur la gouvernance au quotidien pour analyser de quelle maniere les hybrides se forment. Une telle perspective de bricolage institutionnel se base sur des de gouvernance juxtaposant negociation et structure, au profit des uns et au desavantage des autres. Afin d'explorer ces idees, cet article retrace l'evolution de Sungusungu, une institution de gouvernance hybride pastorale dans les plaines de l'Usangu, en Tanzanie. Nous considerons egalement les implications au sens large de tels sur les phenomenes de subsistance, d'inclusion sociale, de justice distributive, et de citoyennete.Key Words: Tanzania; bricolage; hybridity; pastoralist security; governance; Usangu PlainsPractical Approaches to Good Governance: Working with the Grain?Our point of departure for this article is the idea that governance involves a plurality of that are adapted by different stakeholders. Much contemporary thinking about African development is concerned with the hybrid nature of governance in which official rules and mechanisms combine in various ways with local practices and the norms of moral economy, including ideas about mutuality and the right to subsistence (Hyden 2006; Chabal 2009). Increasingly, instead of being seen as dysfunctional, these are being investigated as arrangements that work, practical hybrids that can secure best fit between development policy imperatives and local practices. As such they seem to provide away of working with the grain-of adapting to an existing context and extending the realm of governance from domains of professionalized decision-making into everyday interactions (Booth 2011; 2012).1Such thinking is an adaptation of mainstream development policy approaches, which suggest that, within broadly neoliberal models of economic growth and democracy, getting institutions right can help promote governance and vibrant economic activity (Grindle 2007). Where such policies are applied to natural resource management, two intersecting trends are apparent. The first is one of selective formalization enacted through legislated rights to land and water, the registration of associations, the design of tariffs, and the codification of rules and sanctions to regulate resource access (Palotti 2008). The second is a strategy of normalizing informality through support to community decision-making. Here the deployment of culturally acceptable norms, roles, and practices and the facilitation of both associational and entrepreneurial livelihood activities are intended to generate social and economic capital (Osei-Kufuor 2010; Cleaver 2004).The dominant policy vision, then, sees the potential of harnessing both formal and informal in pursuit of good governance. In relation to the management of natural resources, analysts suggest that this involves recognizing polycentricity: institutions form a mosaic of interconnected in which there is no single governing authority (Lankford & Hepworth 2012; Andersson & Ostrom 2008). …

ASR FORUM: ENGAGING WITH AFRICAN INFORMAL ECONOMIES

Abstract:This article furthers our understanding of how state and citizens interact to produce local institutions and examines the effects of these processes. It brings critical institutional theory into engagement with ideas about everyday governance to analyze how hybrid arrangements are formed through bricolage. Such a perspective helps us to understand governance arrangements as both negotiated and structured, benefiting some and disadvantaging others. To explore these points the article tracks the evolution of the Sungusungu, a hybrid pastoralist security institution in the Usangu Plains, Tanzania. It also considers the wider implications of such hybrid arrangements for livelihoods, social inclusion, distributive justice, and citizenship.

Communities' displacement from national park and tourism development in the Usangu Plains, Tanzania

Land-use-change conflicts have shaped the conservation and tourism activities and human livelihood debate in the Usangu Plains over the last 10 years. This has led Ruaha National Park to become the largest national park in Tanzania and the second largest in Africa. The need to understand the rationale behind the expansion of Ruaha National Park and the local communities' views on tourism activities has become increasingly important. The purpose of this study was to examine land-use change in the Usangu Plains and its implication to local communities. Community members in five villages, Ikoga Mpya, Igomelo, Nyeregete, Mahango and Luhango, were surveyed using semi-structured interviews, focus groups and field notes. This resulted in a total of 79 semi-structured interviews, 4 focus group discussions and field observation data to analyse the situation in Usangu Plains. Data were analysed using NVIVO computer software for coding and themes’ generation. Major themes that emerged from the analysis were land-use change, tourism as a form of land use, tourism benefits and coping mechanisms. The findings from this study suggest that local communities do not perceive that they are benefitting from the change from agricultural to tourism practices. Changing the way local communities perceived themselves and are involved in conservation activities is the key to achieving the best conservation results and community residents’ involvement in future tourism activities in their areas.

Water governance and livelihoods: Outcomes for smallholders on the Usangu plains, Tanzania

How does water governance change over time? What are the outcomes for smallholders and the ecosystems that support them? We review the development of water resources management over the past 40 years in the Kimani catchment of the Usangu plains, in southwestern Tanzania. Our analysis is based on a conceptual framework for water governance comprising a system of resources, arrangements for access, and outcomes for people and ecosystems. We discuss how the resources for water governance have changed over time, we consider the changing arrangements for water allocation, particularly relating to water rights, water management organisations and physical infrastructure, and we analyse the outcomes in terms of access to water for people and of maintenance of environmental flows. Development of water resources in Kimani has been successful on many counts, resulting in assured supplies for many users, with consequent improvements in livelihoods, including, in particular, increases in land-holding size. However, these improvements are accompanied by some negative outcomes, as they reduce water access for other users and threaten downstream flows. The experiences from Kimani highlight the need to map the whole institutional landscape and to ensure that physical infrastructure reflects institutional arrangements when designing interventions to enhance water security. Such interventions may well have significant outcomes for equity and power relations amongst water users.