MODELING APPROACH TO ASSESS INTER-SECTORAL COMPETITION FOR WATER-RESOURCES IN THE KAFUE FLATS, ZAMBIA

The Kafue River joins the Zambezi River just below Kariba dam. Upstrea m from its confluence with the Zambezi, it flows through the primary s ugar-cane producing region of the Kafue Flats and then through Kafue G orge where there is an important hydro-electric power station. These d ifferent activities compete for limited surface-water resources. An ev aluation of existing water resources and their ability to cope with fu ture demands and different operating policies is made difficult becaus e of the intricacy of the hydrological system and the limited availabi lity of long-term reliable data series. In this study, complex site-sp ecific models, traditionally regarded as the answer to such problems, were discarded in favour of a standard, relatively simple reservoir-si mulation model. The model was successfully used to simulate the presen t conditions and test a possible future water-use scenario.