Threat of Kariba Dam Collapse Garners $300 Million in Repair Funds

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Failure of the Kariba Dam, which straddles the Zambezi River between Zambia and Zimbabwe, could threaten the lives of 3 million people on the flood plain that stretches to the Mozambique coast on the Indian Ocean, according to a Word Bank report.

A dam failure could also mean that the Cahora Bassa Dam would be washed away and, in total, 40% of the southern African region's power generating capacity could be lost. The dam is located 400 kilometers downstream from the Victoria Falls.

The arced dam wall holds back 185 billion tonnes of water in the 250-kilometer-long Lake Kariba, and is one of the largest hydropower dams in the world. The dam wall is 617 meters across and 128 meters high, and feeds water to two power stations, generating 750 megawatts (MW) for Zimbabwe and 600 MW for Zambia.

Concerns over the condition of the dam wall first surfaced 10 years ago, but were either discounted or buried. The gouging of the plunge pool below the wall, with water discharged at 8,000 tonnes a second, is now 10 times greater than what the system was designed for, and could cause a weakening in the dam foundations and the jammed spillway gates affected by concrete swelling.

Real concerns about the state of the dam began to emerge about a year ago and claimed the attention of international agencies, followed by the pledging of nearly $300 million for repair operations, which could go on for 10 years. The European Development Bank will provide $100 million, the World Bank $75 million, Sweden $47 million and the African Development Bank $75 million, following and inspection of the 55-year-old dam.

Tractebel Engineering (OTC:TBLEF) (Brussels, Belgium), which is part of GDF SUEZ Group (Paris, France) now advises the Zambezi River Authority on matters pertaining to safety, maintenance and the operation of the dam, including engineering studies and works supervision of the spillway rehabilitation, construction of an emergency gate, and sustainability of the plunge pool. Repairs will include the reshaping of the plunge pool to minimize the scouring of the foundation and fixing the six flood gates, which will be executed one at a time. The plunge pool will be enlarged to allow the turbulence resulting from the spillway discharge to be dissipated, thus reducing the damage potential.

According to George Sitali, vice president for policy, public relations and national development at the engineering institute of Zambia, although there is no imminent danger of the dam collapsing, a speedy solution is needed to solving the problem of the dam's potential instability.

For related information see March 26, 2014, article -Possible Kariba Dam Collapse Pressures $250 Million Repair Schedule for Zambia, Zimbabwe.

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