| Idriss I Dam | |
|---|---|
|
|
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| Official name | Barrage Idriss I |
| Country | Morocco |
| Location | Fes |
| Coordinates | |
| Status | Operational |
| Opening date | 1973 |
| Owner(s) | Office National de L'Electricite (ONE) |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Gravity |
| Height | 72 m (236 ft) |
| Length | 447 m (1,467 ft) |
| Volume | 450,000 m3 (588,578 cu yd) |
| Impounds | Inaouen River |
| Reservoir | |
| Capacity | 1,186,000,000 m3 (961,506 acre·ft) |
| Catchment area | 3,300 km2 (1,274 sq mi) |
| Power station | |
| Commission date | 1978 |
| Turbines | 2 x 20 MW Kaplan-type |
| Installed capacity | 40 MW[1] |
| Annual generation | 66 GWh |
The Idriss I Dam, also known as the Idriss the First Dam, is a gravity dam on the Inaouen River, a tributary of the Sebou River. The dam is situated in the Gharb basin and is located 27 km (17 mi) northeast of Fes in Taounate Province, Morocco. The dam serves to provide irrigation for 72,300 ha (178,657 acres) of land and its power plant generates 66 GWh of electricity annually. It is named after Idriss I[2] It has come under criticism since it failed to deliver irrigation to the projected number of acres and it has also denied water use to historical downstream agricultural and residential users.[3]
A number of water pollutants enter the Sebou River and its tributaries, notably including pesticides and fertilisers from agricultural runoff and untreated sewage from towns along the river.[4] In the upper parts of the watershed within the Middle Atlas is the prehistoric range of the endangered primate Barbary macaque, which animal prehistorically had a much larger range in North Africa.[5]