Ivory Coast Water Resource Areas

The geography of the Cote d’Ivoire consists of a large plateau tilting slowly down towards the Gulf. This allows the four major rivers running north to south to drain 90 percent of the country into the ocean. The four major river systems are the Cavally, Sassandra, Bandama, and Comoe. The Cavally River is the most western of the rivers and forms 400 kilometers of border. The Tano River, on the eastern side of Cote d’Ivoire, creates 50 kilometers of border. Totaling over 800 kilometers, the Bandama River is the country’s longest, draining half of the country’s surface area. Large dams were built in the 1960s and 1970s to control the rivers. The largest reservoir, Lake Kossou, is more than 1,600 square kilometers. Due to the presence of cataracts, Cote d’Ivoire’s rivers have limited transportation potential. Currently 980 kilometers of rivers, canals, and coastal lagoons are navigable. Due to a continuous sand-bar along the coast, rivers from the central and eastern regions discharge into a large lagoon region extending along the Gulf. Frequent floods occur in this area during the rainy seasons. Cote d’Ivoire has 76.7 cu km of renewable water resources. Farming consumes 67 percent of all water resources, while urban and domestic usage consumes 22 percent. Chemical waste from agricultural, industrial, and mining sources has created a significant water pollution problem. Presently 92 percent of urban dwellers and 72 percent of the rural population have safe water access. Only 39 percent of the population has access to sanitation systems, leaving many vulnerable to disease. ISO3 - International Organization for Standardization 3-digit country code ADM0_NAME - Administration level zero identification / name NAME - Name of water feature TYPE - Description of the type of water area (lake, river, etc.) SOURCE_DT - Primary source creation date SOURCE - Primary source