News / National
'Lake Kariba water levels rising'
01 Jan 2019 at 06:22hrs | Views
Water levels in Lake Kariba are currently rising as expected during this time of the year, the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has said.
In a statement, ZRA acting chief executive officer, Peter Kapinga said as at December 27 last year, the recorded lake level was seven meters above the minimum operating level, with a combined power station generation level of over 1 000 megawatts.
"The December 27, 2018 recorded lake level is two metres higher than that recorded on the same date in 2017 and five metres above that of the months of December in 2015 and 2016 when low water levels were recorded at Kariba," he said.
Kapinga said the water levels were expected to increase in the period between January and July, as the rainfall activity increases in the Kariba catchment area, leading to increased in-flows into the lake and increased availability of water for power generation.
"The authority will continue to monitor the hydrological situation and make adjustments where necessary to ensure the continued availability of water for power generation at Kariba," he said.
ZRA is a bi-national organisation established through parallel legislation passed in the parliaments of Zambia and Zimbabwe in 1987 with the mandate of operating, monitoring and maintaining the Kariba complex as well as collecting, accumulating and processing hydrological and environmental data of the Zambezi River located along the common border between the two countries.
The authority manages the Kariba Dam and reservoir and allocates water for power generation to the two power stations at Kariba, namely, the Kariba North Bank Power Station, operated by Zesco Limited of Zambia, and the Kariba South Bank Power Station, operated by Zimbabwe Power Company.
In a statement, ZRA acting chief executive officer, Peter Kapinga said as at December 27 last year, the recorded lake level was seven meters above the minimum operating level, with a combined power station generation level of over 1 000 megawatts.
"The December 27, 2018 recorded lake level is two metres higher than that recorded on the same date in 2017 and five metres above that of the months of December in 2015 and 2016 when low water levels were recorded at Kariba," he said.
Kapinga said the water levels were expected to increase in the period between January and July, as the rainfall activity increases in the Kariba catchment area, leading to increased in-flows into the lake and increased availability of water for power generation.
"The authority will continue to monitor the hydrological situation and make adjustments where necessary to ensure the continued availability of water for power generation at Kariba," he said.
ZRA is a bi-national organisation established through parallel legislation passed in the parliaments of Zambia and Zimbabwe in 1987 with the mandate of operating, monitoring and maintaining the Kariba complex as well as collecting, accumulating and processing hydrological and environmental data of the Zambezi River located along the common border between the two countries.
The authority manages the Kariba Dam and reservoir and allocates water for power generation to the two power stations at Kariba, namely, the Kariba North Bank Power Station, operated by Zesco Limited of Zambia, and the Kariba South Bank Power Station, operated by Zimbabwe Power Company.
Source - newsday
