Lesotho Water Project

Researching his book "Deep Water" took Jacques Leslie to a village in Lesotho where the filling of Katse reservoir had caused the ground to emit eerie moans that frightened villagers. In January 1996, a 3.2-magnitude earthquake left a deep crack which extended from the reservoir straight up a slope for nearly a mile.

Lori Pottinger

Lori Pottinger

This map shows the proposed Mohale Dam of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, and the villages that will be inundated by its 23–square–kilometer reservoir (indicated by red dots). Project authorities estimate that 300–400 households (up to 2,500 people) will be forced to leave their land and homes. The reservoir will flood some of the area's best farm land.

A woman from Ha Tsapane village in the Mohale Dam area. This village was drowned out by the LHWP.

A woman with her maize crop. Since the project, many farmers have had to rent fields to grow their crops, or have given up farming altogether, and are struggling to survive.

Farmers have lost not only land for growing crops but grazing land to the LHWP project.

This rare medicinal plant lost habitat to the project.