A study determining the impacts of land uses on water resources in the Lake Sibaya catchment in northern KwaZulu-Natal revealed that eucalyptus plantations have contributed to an approximately two-metre drop in water levels in the catchment, in addition to the declining trend in water levels induced by climate. I formed part of an interdisciplinary team in a Water Research Commission (WRC)-funded project looking at the socioeconomic implications/consequences of different land uses on water resources for drinking, sanitation and sustaining wildlife in the area, including hippos and crocodiles. 

I became interested in groundwater modelling at the end of my honours year after reading a paper on its use in the Middle East where groundwater is the primary source of water. I then asked myself which areas in South Africa were groundwater dependent and how many of these groundwater modelling studies have been conducted for those areas?

Having a hydrology background, I was surprised to discover the wide use and relevance of groundwater modelling in South Africa, especially in KwaZulu-Natal. When I started my MSc at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, I was privileged to have a groundwater modelling veteran, retired Professor Bruce Kelbe, as my mentor while working on the WRC study.

I had to immerse myself in the language and thinking of hydrogeologists to become a geohydrologist and to start updating a groundwater model previously developed by Prof Kelbe for the Lake Sibaya site, which was required for the project. The SAEON Grasslands Node, in collaboration with JG Afrika and the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), has been investing in a monitoring network for the Lake Sibaya area which took place almost at the same time questions were arising about how the people living in the area and dependent on the lake and groundwater catchment could sustain themselves as lake levels continued to decline past set and recommended ecological reserves.

The groundwater modelling component of the WRC project not only answered the question of the relative attribution of forestry and climate to lake level declines posed by the DWS 2015 Reserve Determination Report, but also provided plausible scenarios of how the system will behave in the future if land uses remained as they currently were, or if they were altered.

After completing my MSc towards mid-2023, I joined the Grasslands Node as a junior groundwater hydrologist, with the finalisation of the groundwater model to run the various plausible scenarios as my primary focus. The support I have received from the Grasslands team, more so the node coordinator Sue van Rensburg, has contributed to the development of my professional skills. It has also boosted my confidence in communicating my research more effectively and to see the potential for innovation within my field of study.