Water Security in Eswatini, Africa

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Philadelphia District (NAP), working through United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM), was tasked with supporting the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) in developing a more robust water security strategy. Eswatini is a landlocked country located between South Africa and Mozambique. The country contains four physiographic zones, ranging from mountains to plains, with an equally variable climate. As a result of erratic rainfall, Eswatini suffered a severe drought in 2015 and 2016. NAP’s integrated water resource management approach included modeling of both surface water and groundwater resources. Surface water models of the upper reaches of the Mbuluzi River were developed using the Hydrologic Engineering Center’s river analysis system (HEC-RAS) and hydrologic modeling system (HEC-HMS). A three-dimensional conceptual site model of the country’s subsurface conditions was created using Aquaveo’s groundwater modeling system (GMS). The Eswatini Department of Water Affairs maintains a database of approximately 1,700 boring logs, which was used to develop the conceptual site model. The models were used as teaching tools during a September 2019 in-country training workshop and to inform the expansion/improvement of data collection systems. Future work includes development and expansion of these models and assistance with the country’s master planning strategy.