Soil Water Saturation in the Cathedral Peak VI Catchment, KwaZulu-Natal

Degree of water saturation and water storage capacity has been studied in the Cathedral Peak VI catchment in South Africa. Soil water content data for the Cathedral Peak VI collected since 1990 in various Water Research Commission projects were used to calculate the annual degree of water saturation (s) above 0.78 of porosity (ADs>0.78) for the soils of the catchment. The ADs>0.78 value was used to determine the soil water regime of soils of the catchment. The degree of water saturation (s) was found to be heterogeneous downslope in the catchment, controlled primarily by topography. Soils in the mid and upper slopes had a dry water regime while soils in the toe slope had a wetter water regime. The soil water storage capacity of the catchment was estimated to be approximately 248 583 m3, using rainfall and streamflow data. Results reported here increases understanding of the hydrological characteristics of soils in the Cathedral Peak VI catchment and provide key information on the role of soils in catchment hydrology.