Zambezi River Authority opens Kariba spillway gate

This comes in the wake of heavy rains that have been pounding Zimbabwe, raising fears of flooding upstream.
ZRA Projects and Dam Safety director Mr David Mazvidza said the authority had opened one of the six floodgates to maintain the required water levels at the dam.

“We opened floodgate four because water must be at certain levels at any time of the year.
“We have – through projections from our Meteorological Services Department and Zambia’s meteorological Department, decided to open the gates to allow excess water to go downstream,” Mr Mazvidza said.
He said the dam wall was designed in a manner that attenuates floods and allows water to pass through to maintain manageable levels.

ZAR hydrologist Mr Pherry Mwiinga also said the floodgate at opening was releasing at least 700 cubic metres of water per second.
“We had to open the flood gate in preparation for the heavy rains expected in the Zambezi catchment area in the next two months. We have to prepare storage space for the rains and maintain levels within operating range,” Mr Mwiinga said.

He said the floodgate would be opened for at least one and a half weeks and the authority was not anticipating any flooding or disasters downstream.
“The water levels downstream will not significantly increase so we are not anticipating any floods, we expect minimal impact,” he said.

The Department of Civil Protection acting director Ms Sibusiso Ndlovu said the department was on high alert in case of any flooding.
“We have already warned communities living downstream of the Kariba Dam that water levels might rise and there are possible risks of flooding,” Ms Ndlovu said.

The opening of floodgate number four at Kariba Dam attracted more than 100 local, regional and international tourists who came to witness the momentous occasion.
Some of the tourists were drawn from Zambia, Botswana, S

The floodgates are opened annually during this season but particularly when the country is receiving heavy rains in order to maintain and keep the lake level within the operating range.