Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) says there is no likelihood that Lake Kariba will spill this year.
In late 2022, ZRA drastically reduced water allocations to Zimbabwe and Zambia’s power utilities due to plummeting water levels in the dam.
Heavy rainfall and floods in some parts of the southern African region had raised hopes that Kariba Dam will spill.
However, in a statement, ZRA said despite the floods, there is no likelihood of any spilling of water at the Kariba Dam this year, 2023. ZERA said:
Heavy rains continue to be witnessed in Zambia and Zimbabwe with cases of flooding experienced in some parts.
This has led to mounting concerns over the possibility of spilling water at the 128-meter Kariba Dam.
Based on the information from our 14 gauging stations located within the Kariba catchment and coupled with obtaining usable storage and projected inflows into the lake for the year 2023, we wish to state as the Zambezi River Authority that there is no likelihood of any spilling of water at the Kariba Dam this year, 2023.
While the lake level continues rising in the world’s largest man-made lake and reservoir by volume, the likelihood of filling the 280km long (with a width of 32km in some sections) reservoir to a capacity that would then require creating space for incoming floods during this year remains very low.
With this backdrop, our concerned followers can take comfort that there is absolutely NO cause for alarm as the current reservoir storage of 9.6% (usable or live storage) and projected inflows into the lake are such that spilling is unlikely to take place this year.
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