Kihansi Dam
Kihansi Dam, also Kihansi Hydroelectric Power Station, is a hydroelectric dam located on the Kihansi River at the southern end of the Kihansi Gorge before the convergence with the Ulanga River in Tanzania, approximately 500 kilometres (311 mi), by road, southwest of Dar Es Salaam.[2]
| Kihansi Dam | |
|---|---|
  Location in Tanzania | |
| Official name | Bwawa la Kihansi (Swahili) |
| Country | Tanzania |
| Location | Mufindi, Iringa Region |
| Coordinates | 08°34′30.0″S 35°51′06.0″E |
| Purpose | Power |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 1994 |
| Opening date | 2000 |
| Construction cost | U$272 million |
| Owner(s) | TANESCO |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Gravity dam |
| Impounds | Kilombero River |
| Reservoir | |
| Catchment area | 590 km2 (230 sq mi) |
| Turbines | 3 × 60 MW Pelton-type |
| Installed capacity | 180 MW |
| Website Dam website | |
| Source: TANESCO[1] | |
Overview
The Kihansi Dam is a concrete gravity dam owned by the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited. Its construction began in July 1995 and was opened by President Benjamin W. Mkapa on 10 July 2000. It cost $36 million. Its installed capacity is 180 MW, and it helps provide approximately 13% of the total electrical power in Tanzania.[3][4][5]
Environmental impact
The Kihansi Dam destroyed an 800m-high waterfall, affected over 20,000 villagers, and was directly responsible for the extinction in the wild of the Kihansi Spray Toad. The dam reduced the amount of silt and water coming down from the waterfall into the gorge by 90 percent. This led to the spray toad's microhabitat being compromised, as it reduced the amount of water spray, which the toads were directly reliant on for oxygen. This also meant that the toad may have been more susceptible to a chytrid fungus, which was believed to have been transported to the area by conservationists' boots. This chytridiomycosis, which in 2003 was confirmed to be in dead animals of the species, was possibly responsible for the sudden population crash after the world's largest sprinkler system was installed in that area in August 2003. This system was installed to try and conserve the toad species from becoming extinct in the wild, but did not succeed.[6][7]
References
- Tanesco (23 May 2018). "Kihansi Hydro Power Plant". Dar es Salam: Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- Globefeed.com (23 May 2018). "Distance between Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Kihansi Dam, Tanzania". Globefeed.com. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- "Lower Kihansi Hydropower Dam and Reservoir Project, Tanzania".
- Myrvoll, Frank; S. B. Hansen; J. A. Roti; A. Halvorsen (2003). Frank Myrvoll (ed.). Field Measurements in Geomechanics. Taylor & Francis. pp. 245–254. ISBN 978-90-5809-602-- 9. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
- Pierre Julien; Seema Shah (1 November 2005). "Sedimentation Initiatives in Developing Countries" (PDF). UNESCO. pp. 29–31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
- "Lower Kihansi Hydropower Project, Tanzania". London: Net Resources International. January 2001. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
- "Species' extinction threat grows". BBC. 3 November 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010.