{UAH} Africa's biggest dam 'close to collapse'
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FEARS of a humanitarian disaster are growing as engineers warn Africa's mighty Kariba dam, opened by the Queen Mother in 1960, has developed severe structural faults.
A collapse would unleash about 180 billion tonnes of water from the largest man-made lake on the continent, sweeping thousands of hippos and crocodiles into an area of Zambia that is home to 3.5 million people.
Kariba Dam, which separates Zimbabwe and Zambia, is in serious risk of collapsing as gaping cracks have developed on the imposing structure.
Lake Kariba is Africa’s biggest inland water reservoir. It stretches for more than 280 kilometers. Kariba Dam, which is among the largest dams in the world, holds all that water together. It is 420 feet tall and 1900 feet long. A collapse is likely to threaten 3.5 million people in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique.
Felix Nkulukusa, the Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary of Zambia, is saying that the dam has developed “serious structural weaknesses”, and needs to be repaired within the next 3 years. Felix says that Kariba Dam is actually on the verge of collapsing. Zambia and Zimbabwe will together have to raise $250M urgently to carry out the repairs and avert a major economic and humanitarian crisis. The dam wall will simply be washed away if nothing is done, he warns. This will wash away the lives and belongings of an estimated 3.5 million people in several countries.
He has also accused the Environment, Water, and Climate Minister of Zimbabwe, Saviour Kasukuwere, of trying to downplay the gravity of the situation. Kasukuwere is however saying that he isn’t aware of any impending disaster. Some repairs are being carried out on the wall right now, he says.
Only last month, the Tokwe-Mukosi dam collapsed partially in Zimbabwe after torrential rains. Thousands of people had to be evacuated.
The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) is pointing out that the dam’s wall has suffered from an alkali-aggregate reaction. This has caused swelling within the concrete mass, which has lead to the cracks. Nkulukusa is saying that there is another problem with the dam. Its spillway is not opening and closing automatically, and so, the required water level in the reservoir is not being properly maintained.
There have been other concerns too. Engineers from the Zambezi River Authority pointed out in a 2012 meeting that the plunge pool below Kariba Dam has deepened beyond expectation. The erosion was more than 81 meters deep, and it was towards the dam wall, which was a major cause for concern because this was undercutting the foundation of its 128-metre-high wall.
Both Zambia and Zimbabwe depend greatly on the hydro-electric power from Kariba Dam. So if the dam collapses, then it would certainly be a major threat to the power supply as well. The Cahora Bassa Hydro-power plant in Mozambique will also be destroyed if the wall is washed away.
By Niladri Bose
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