Uncertainties in Techniques used to Determine Areas under Irrigation in the Upper Orange River Basin

The paper addresses uncertainties that emanate as a result of methods used to determine irrigation areas in the Upper Orange River catchment area. The largest water user is the irrigation sector. What is not known for all schemes are the return flows but an average estimation of 13% is done for the main irrigation areas. Though several previous studies have addressed water conservation and demand management in the in the Orange-Senqu River catchment area; some pitfalls/caveats remain identified by these studies pertaining to the practical implementation of results. It was the necessary to look into several methods used since the results produced, in some instances differed so much. An establishment of a standard methodology for the collection of data on irrigation water applied to crops, water use by crops and crop yields is a necessity. Establishment of an inventory GIS Database for irrigation inventory could prove useful if it could enhance the collation and collection of detailed and reliable data about irrigation water use by crops and crop yields. It could lead to documenting best management practices for irrigation in the catchment area. Another path could be to assess and consider various instruments that could be used for water conservation and demand management and further made improvements on water conservation and water demand management (WC/WDM) in the sector.