Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
2.1 T
HE
V
OLTA
B
ASIN
This chapter describes the study area. The research was conducted in three
sub-catchments (Anayari, Atankwidi and Yarigatanga) of the White Volta
sub-basin. The White Volta is a major tributary of the Volta basin. The
description entails the location, climate, hydrology, hydrogeology, water
governance and water uses at the three levels: beginning with the Volta
Basin, followed by the White Volta and lastly the three sub-catchments.
The Volta River Basin is located in West Africa and covers an estimated
area of 400,000 km
2
. The Volta basin stretches from approximately latitude
5
o
30' N in Ghana to 14
o
30' N in Mali. The widest stretch is from
approximately longitude 5
o
30 W to 2
o
00 E but the basin becomes more
narrow towards the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. The Volta basin is spread
over six West African countries (43% in Burkina Faso, 42% in Ghana, 6% in
Togo, 3% in Benin, 3% in Cote d'Ivoire and 3% in Mali) (Barry et al., 2005).
The Volta Basin is drained by several major rivers: the Black Volta, the
White Volta with the Red Volta as its tributary, the Oti River and the
Lower Volta. The mean annual flows of the Black Volta, White Volta, Oti
River and Lower Volta are 7.7, 9.6, 11.2 and 9.8 x 10
9
m
3
/a, respectively
(MWH, 1998). A dominant feature in the basin is Lake Volta, which covers
about 4% of the total area in Ghana, and which was formed by the
construction of Akosombo dam in 1965. Inflows into Lake Volta average 38 x
10
9
m
3
/a. Hydropower is generated at Akosombo and Kpong (1072MW
installed capacity).
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