by 2004 there were at least 11 major permanent fishing camps on the flats each of which was occupied by at least 500 fishermen. In addition there were a large number of temporary fishing camps established during the dry season. In some cases the Batwa are marginalised from other ethnic groups, particularly the Bemba and the Lozi fishermen who consider them inferior. By contrast the Ila are held in high regard by other groups due to their history of being one of the richest cattle-owning groups in the region, although fishing and hunting plays an equally significant role in their culture. Hydrology and dams The hydrology of the Kafue River and Kafue Flats have been significantly altered by the construction in the 1970s of two dams, firstly at Kafue Gorge downstream of the flats and then at Itezhi-Tezhi upstream of the flats as parts of a scheme to generate hydroelectric power. The Kafue Gorge Dam, with 600MW of hydroelectric power generation, was completed in 1972 creating a reservoir downstream of the Kafue Flats with a storage capacity of 785 million m3. To enable more power generation (up to 900 MW) another 65m high dam at Itezhi-Tezhi, upstream of the Kafue Flats, was completed in 1976. The reservoir stores 5,700 million m3 of water and covers a 370 sq km area of the Kafue River and its tributary the Musa River. The Itezhi-Tezhi Dam stores water during the wet season which is then released for the turbines at the Kafue Gorge Dam and power station during the dry season. Water takes approximately eight weeks to travel between Itezhi-tezhi and Kafue Gorge. Prior to construction of the dam at Itezhi-Tezhi, flooding of the Kafue Flats was the result of high flows within the Kafue River beginning to rise following the onset of the rains in November to December and with the peak flood occurring sometime between April and May. The flats would subsequently slowly drain with very little surface water remaining by October to November the following year. Releases from Itezhi-Tezhi dam are very different to the historical flows experienced within the Kafue River with the smooth annual rise and fall in discharge being replaced by sudden increases as large volumes of water are released from the dam. A substantial discharge is now maintained throughout the dry season whereas naturally this period is associated with lower river flows. Although maximum floods may