Dimensions and Purpose
The dam has a height of 62 m, a crest length of 1800 m and forms a reservoir of 390 km², which flooded a section of the Kafue National Park.
The initial purpose of the dam is to store water for the hydroelectric power station of the Kafue Gorge Dam more than 260 km downstream. The Kafue River, like most in south-central Africa, has a very high seasonal variation, flooding in the rainy season and slowing to perhaps a twentieth of the peak flow rate at the end of the dry season. Power generation however requires a steady flow, which can only be achieved by having a reservoir large enough to store the rainy season flood for use in the dry season. At the Kafue Gorge the topography does not allow a large enough reservoir to form. The designers of the dam therefore had the idea of siting the main reservoir at Itezhi-Tezhi, and releasing the water in a steady flow down the river along the Kafue Flats to the Kafue Gorge Dam.
Read more about this topic: Itezhi-Tezhi Dam
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