Mtera Dam

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.

Mtera Dam
The Mtera Reservoir in the year 2012.
Location in Tanzania
Mtera Dam (Africa)
Mtera Dam (Earth)
Official nameBwawa la Mtera  (Swahili)
CountryTanzania
Coordinates7°08′10.3″S 35°59′12.6″E
PurposeFlood control and power
StatusOperational
Construction began1970
Opening date19 February 1981
Owner(s)TANESCO
Dam and spillways
Type of damRock-fill dam
ImpoundsGreat Ruaha River
Height40 metres (130 ft)
Elevation at crest701.5 metres (2,302 ft)
Reservoir
Catchment area68,000 km2 (26,000 sq mi)
Commission date1984
Turbines2× 40 MW
Installed capacity80 MW
Website
Tanesco website
Source: TANESCO[1]

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]

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See also

References
  1. "Mtera Dam". TANESCO. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  2. http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sites/index.html?action=SitHTMDetails.asp&sid=6992&m=0
  3. http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/v4110e/V4110E06.htm

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

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