Thuli River

Thuli River
Thuli River
	The Thuli River flowing out of Thuli Gorge, south of Gwanda, Zimbabwe
Location
Country	Zimbabwe
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Matopo Mission, Matobo District, Zimbabwe
Mouth
• location	Shashe River
Basin size	7,910 km2 (3,050 sq mi)
Discharge
• average	36.0 mm/a (1.42 in/year) unit flow

The Thuli River, former name Tuli River, is a major tributary of the Shashe River in Zimbabwe. It rises near Matopo Mission, Matobo District, and flows into the Shashe River near Tuli village.

Hydrology[]

The Thuli is an ephemeral river, with declining annual unit runoff.^[2]

Major tributaries of the Thuli River include the Mtshabezi, Mtshelele, Sengezane river and Mwewe Rivers.

The Thuli River below Thuli-Makwe Dam is a sand filled channel, with alluvial aquifers in the river channel.^[3]

Towns along the river[]

The Thuli River passes through no major settlements, only the following business centres:

Freda Mine
Manama
Chelesa, Zimbabwe [Sengezane]

Bridges and crossings[]

Bridge on the Thuli River at Freda Mine.

There are five main bridges over the Mzingwane River:

Bridge on Old Gwanda Road, between Matombo Mission and Blanket Mine.
Bridge on Gwanda - Kezi road, below Thuli-Makwe Dam.
Elliot Bridge, upstream of .
Bridge on Manama - Kafusi road.
Mankonkoni Bridge on Tuli - Kafusi road. This bridge was destroyed by Cyclone Eline.

There are also a number of fords and crossing points, including:

Ntalale causeway, which was badly damaged by Cyclone Eline.
Causeway below Thuli gorge

Development[]

Thuli-Makwe Dam.

In addition to a number of small weirs, there is one major dam on the Thuli River:

Thuli–Makwe Dam, west of Gwanda. It is located near the confluence with the Mtshelele River and supplies water for irrigation.

The Mtshabezi River (the principal left-bank tributary) is dammed at Mtshabezi, Sheet and Blanket. Mtshabezi Dam will augment the water supply for the City of Bulawayo, once a connecting pipeline has been completed. Sheet and Blanket Dams supply water to the City of Gwanda and and Vubachikwe Mines.

Two additional dam sites have been selected further downstream:

Thuli–Moswa, where no development has taken place.
Thuli–Manyange, upstream of Elliot Bridge, where construction was briefly started in 2007 but is now halted.^[1]

References[]

^ ^a ^b Chibi, T., Kandori, C. and Makone, B.F. 2005. Mzingwane Catchment Outline Plan. Zimbabwe National Water Authority, Bulawayo.
^ Love, D., Uhlenbrook, S., Madamombe, E., Twomlow, S. and van der Zaag, P. 2006. An evaluation of climate and run-off variability and associated livelihood risks in the Mzingwane Catchment, Limpopo Basin, Zimbabwe. Water Institute of Southern Africa Biennial Conference and Exhibition, Durban, South Africa, May 2006.
^ Görgens, A.H.M. and Boroto, R.A. 1997. Limpopo River: flow balance anomalies, surprises and implications for integrated water resources management. In: Proceedings of the 8th South African National Hydrology Symposium, Pretoria, South Africa.

Coordinates: 21°48′01″S 29°03′42″E / 21.8003°S 29.0617°E / -21.8003; 29.0617

[Chibi-1] Chibi, T., Kandori, C. and Makone, B.F. 2005. Mzingwane Catchment Outline Plan. Zimbabwe National Water Authority, Bulawayo.

[2] Love, D., Uhlenbrook, S., Madamombe, E., Twomlow, S. and van der Zaag, P. 2006. An evaluation of climate and run-off variability and associated livelihood risks in the Mzingwane Catchment, Limpopo Basin, Zimbabwe. Water Institute of Southern Africa Biennial Conference and Exhibition, Durban, South Africa, May 2006.

[3] Görgens, A.H.M. and Boroto, R.A. 1997. Limpopo River: flow balance anomalies, surprises and implications for integrated water resources management. In: Proceedings of the 8th South African National Hydrology Symposium, Pretoria, South Africa.

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