Kariba water levels up 25% in past month – ZRA

Harare, (New Ziana) – Water levels for power generation at Kariba Dam have improved by 25 percent in the past month due to increases in inflows from catchment areas, the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) said on Thursday.

The authority’s chief executive, Munyaradzi Munodawafa said lake levels increased by 1.21 meters between March 3 and April 7.

“This represents a 25 percent increase in live storage (usable water) over a period of 37 days,” he said.

“The lake level recorded on 7th April 2021 of 481.97 meters has placed the lake level at 6.47 meters above the Minimum Operating Level (MOL) of 475.50m. This places the lake water levels at 6.53 meters below the full supply level of 488.50 meters.”

During the same day last year, lake levels were at 478.26m, with usable water for power generation at 19.17 percent.
Munodawafa said water allocation for water generation for both Zambia and Zimbabwe remained unchanged and was due for review at the end of the second quarter.

Kariba is Zimbabwe’s biggest hydro-power station and is currently generating around over 750MW.

The ZRA is a bi-national organisation jointly owned by Zambia and Zimbabwe, and is charged with managing the Zambezi River waters for the socio-economic benefit of the two countries.
New Ziana