| Pangani River | |
| Map: | Panganirivermap.png |
| Map Size: | 250 |
| Source1 Location: | Arusha District, Arusha Region |
| Mouth Location: | Indian Ocean at the town of Pangani, Pangani District, Tanga Region |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Tanga Region, Arusha Region, Manyara Region, Kilimanjaro Region |
| Subdivision Type3: | District |
| Subdivision Name3: | Arusha District Council, Meru District, Arusha City Council, Hai District, Moshi District, Mwanga District, Same District, Korogwe District, Korogwe Town, Muheza District, Pangani District, |
| Length: | 500km |
| Discharge1 Avg: | 27m3/s |
| Basin Size: | 43650km2[1] |
| Tributaries Left: | Mkomazi
|
| Tributaries Right: | Lumoromo; Fukda; Mkalami |
The Pangani River (Mto Pangani, in Swahili), (also called Luffu and Jipe Ruvu, especially in older sources, and probably once called Rhaptus) is a major river of northeastern Tanzania. It has two main sources:[2] the Ruvu, which rises as Lumi at Kilimanjaro, passes through Lake Jipe, and empties into the Nyumba ya Mungu Reservoir, and the Kikuletwa River, coming from the west and mainly fed by rivers of Mount Meru in Arusha Region, which also enters into the Nyumba ya Mungu Reservoir in Kilimanjaro Region. Just after leaving the reservoir the stream becomes the main Pangani, which empties into the Indian Ocean in Tanga Region at the Tangan port town of Pangani.[3]
For much of its length the river flows along the regional borders of Kilimanjaro Region and Manyara Region, before flowing into Tanga Region, which contains the 68 MW Pangani Power Station and the Pangani Falls Dam. There are several inhabited islands within the river. The river is full of crocodiles; hippopotami are scarcer in its lower parts.
A main source of Pangani originates on Kilimanjaro, where it is the River Lumi. Lake Jipe may be considered a backwater of the Lumi.[4] Below Lake Jipe and above the falls, the river is referred to as "Ruvu".[5]
Formerly the main course towards the sea was alternatively called "Ruvu" and "Pangani".[6] Nowadays that has been settled as "Pangani" from the Nyumba ya Mungu reservoir to the Ocean. While the Swahili call it "Pangani" (meaning distribute or arrange), it is called "Luffu" by the Wasambara (indigenous to the Nderema area, on the three ridges nearer the coast) and the Zigua (who live on the river's islands). Almost all authorities agree that the river "Rhaptus" of Ptolemy's topographical maps is the Pangani of modern maps.[7]
The Pangani is in length.[8]
Average monthly flow of Pangani measured at the hydrological station in Korogwe Estate, about 110 km above the mouth in m³ / s (1959–77).[14] The Pangani flows stimulate time-dependent, like most rivers in the region.
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The Pangani Basin (PB) is one of Tanzania's nine drainage basins. Extending from the northern highlands to Tanzania's north-eastern coastline, the PB is approximately in size, of which is within Kenya.[15] Five sub-basins comprise the basin: the Pangani River, the Umba River, the Msangazi River, the Zigi River, and the Mkulumuzi River plus other coastal rivers .[16] All of these empty into the Indian Ocean.
The Pangani Basin Water Board (PBWB) was established in July 1991 under the Water Utilization (Control and Regulation) Act No. 42 of 1974. Its headquarters is in the Moshi municipality in the Kilimanjaro Region. Its other two offices are in Arusha and Tanga.[17] The PBWB consists of ten professionals from public institutions and private sector LGAs, UWSAs, and other committees.
The river system is under pressure because of conflicting water uses and major overallocations of its water. Many farmers rely on the river for irrigation. Damming projects along the river have reduced the river's flow from several hundred cubic metres per second to less than . This has affected coastal communities, which have seen large reductions in fish populations and saltwater intrusion[18] In 2002, the Pangani River Basin Management Project was established to manage the basin's water resources. It receives technical assistance from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, the GIZ German Development Organisation and the local non-governmental organization PAMOJA.[18] The project also receives funds from the government of Tanzania, IUCN, the European Commission, and the Global Environment Facility through the United Nations Development Programme.[18]
There is a good deal of trade here, dhows loading and unloading on the river. Produce is brought down the river, principally on rafts made of the Moale palm, which are then broken up and become articles of commerce. In 1878, the most common crop cultivated on the river's banks was reported to be sugar.[19]
