Zimbabwe has a long history of dam construction dating back to the 1920s. The dams
range from small reservoirs to large dams used to supply water for urban mining and
industrial areas and large-scale irrigation. Small reservoirs have been built in the former
large-scale commercial farming areas and communal areas with the aim of improving the
people’s livelihood through their multiple uses. Despite the long history of small dam
usage, there has not been a comprehensive study on the multiple uses focusing on the
volume of water withdrawn and water use efficiency in a bid to establish their usefulness.
This research therefore focuses at volume quantification on consumptive uses of the
small dams and water productivity. However utilisation of the small dam is a function of
how it is managed and the influence of various institutions and organisations related to
the community.
Methods used to gather information included questionnaire survey on small dam users,
interviews with various organisation and institutions, observation and secondary data.
Small dams were found to be very important in the communities’ well being as they are
put to a number of uses, which are livestock watering, domestic use, irrigation, fishing,
brickmaking, and collection of Cypress spp. reeds used for roofing. Livestock consumes
the bulk of the water, the least being brickmaking. Water productivity as well as the
economic value is generally the same per use when comparing with the dams, due to
close location of the dams. On all dams, traditional leaders and the community are pivotal
in management of the small dams. However, more interaction between various
organisations and the community is called for as well as awareness on dam utilisation and
catchment conservation.