Mtera Dam : Overview, Ecology Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mtera Dam

Dam

7°08′10.3″S 35°59′12.6″E / 7.136194°S 35.986833°E / -7.136194; 35.986833PurposeFlood control and powerStatusOperationalConstruction began1970Opening date19 February 1981Owner(s)TANESCODam and spillwaysType of damRock-fill damImpoundsGreat Ruaha RiverHeight40 metres (130 ft)Elevation at crest701.5 metres (2,302 ft)ReservoirCatchment area68,000 km² (26,000 sq mi)Commission date1984Turbines2× 40 MWInstalled capacity80 MWWebsite
Tanesco websiteSource: TANESCO^[1]

Mtera Dam is a hydroelectric dam in Tanzania. The dam is located midway between Iringa and Dodoma on the border between the Iringa Region and the Dodoma Region. The travel time from Dodoma is about two hours on a tarmac road.

Overview

Mtera Dam is a large hydroelectric dam in Tanzania. It measures 660 square kilometres (250 sq mi) at full capacity. The lake is 56 kilometres (35 mi) long, and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) wide, and is feed by the Great Ruaha River and the Kisigo River. It was built from 1975 to 1979 for the purpose of regulating water level at the downstream at the Ruaha installed Kidatu Hydro-electric Dam. It has a capacity of 80 megawatts (110,000 hp).

Ecology

The lake is considered to be one of the best places in Tanzania to observe birds, since there are approximately one million dead trees in it and it has many shallow areas.^[2] In addition, the waters are rich in fish. In the early 1990s about 5000 tonnes of fish were caught in the lake.^[3]

References

^ "Mtera Dam". TANESCO. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
^ "BirdLife Data Zone".
^ "Status of fish stocks and fisheries of thirteen medium-sized African reservoirs".

Öhman, May-Britt, Taming Exotic Beauties: Swedish Hydro Power Constructions in Tanzania in the Era of Development Assistance, 1960s - 1990s, Stockholm, 2007, PhD Thesis, http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:12267

External links

Tanesco Website

Power in Tanzania

Sectors

Energy in Tanzania
Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission

Companies and
organisations

Active
power stations

Coal	Dangote Industries Tanzania Thermal Power Station
Hydro-electric	Hale Power Station Kidatu Power Station Kihansi Power Station Mtera Power Station Nyumba ya Mungu Power Station Pangani Power Station
Natural gas	Kinyerezi I Thermal Power Station Mtwara Thermal Power Station Songas Thermal Power Station Tegeta Thermal Power Station Ubungo I Thermal Power Station Ubungo II Thermal Power Station
Diesel	Arusha Thermal Power Station Dodoma Thermal Power Station Nyakato Diesel Power Station PAP Diesel Power Station