Idriss I Dam

Idriss I Dam

Map of the dam, located at the upper left.
Location of Idriss I Dam
Official name Barrage Idriss I
Country Morocco
Location Fes
Coordinates 34°09′41″N 04°44′57″W / 34.16139°N 4.74917°WCoordinates: 34°09′41″N 04°44′57″W / 34.16139°N 4.74917°W
Status Operational
Opening date 1973
Owner(s) Office National de L'Electricite (ONE)
Dam and spillways
Type of dam Gravity
Impounds Inaouen River
Height 72 m (236 ft)
Length 447 m (1,467 ft)
Dam volume 450,000 m3 (16,000,000 cu ft)
Reservoir
Total capacity 1,186×106 m3 (962,000 acre·ft)
Catchment area 3,300 km2 (1,300 sq mi)
Power station
Commission date 1978
Turbines 2 x 20 MW (27,000 hp) Kaplan-type
Installed capacity 40 MW (54,000 hp)[1]
Annual generation 66 GWh (240 TJ)

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 kilometres (17 mi) northeast of Fes in Taounate Province, Morocco. The dam serves to provide irrigation for 72,300 hectares (179,000 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]

Environmental issues

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]

See also

References

  1. "Idriss I Hydroelectric Power Project Morocco". Global Energy Observatory. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  2. "Idriss I" (in French). Secretariat D'etat Charge de L'eau et de L'environnement. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  3. Findlay 1994
  4. Michele L. Thieme. 2005
  5. C. Michael Hogan. 2008

Bibliography