Water pipeline damage by elephants costs 193,000 USD over 5 years in Botswana
GABORONE, July 15 — Botswana has spent 2.61 million pula (about 193,000 U.S. dollars) on repairing water pipelines damaged by elephants over the past five years, the country’s water authority revealed Friday.
Most of the pipeline damage was found in the Nxai Pan National Park, northeastern Botswana, and wildlife management area in the country’s northwest region, said Michael Sepepe, Botswana Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) cluster manager, in an interview with Xinhua in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana.
The 55-km northwest water pipeline from Phuduhudu village along the A3 highway, was completed in 2016 at a total cost of 154.7 million pula as part of a cluster of projects, that aimed to improve water delivery in various northwest settlements, said Sepepe.
“Maintenance along this pipeline is a mammoth task with a frequent average of three breakdowns per week. WUC spends at least 15,000 pula for each manhole and pipeline breakdown,” said Sepepe. He stated that the elephants’ temper with the pipeline shows a clear indication that there are no boreholes available, especially around the Phuduhudu area. They temper with manholes, causing water leakages.
According to WUC, in the last five years, the corporation has spent 2.61 million pula on maintenance, excluding water loss, adding that the company does not currently have approved funding for a project to curb elephant vandalism.
Sepepe emphasized that the solution is to install elephant buffers at every manhole along the pipeline route and collaborate with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks to find a long-term solution to elephant vandalism.
Botswana has about 131,900 elephants, more than any of its four neighboring countries, namely Angola, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, according to a recent survey. The large elephant population has caused human-wildlife conflict with over 11,993 cases reported in 2023/2024.
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