Idriss I Dam
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 Taza and 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]
| Idriss I Dam | |
|---|---|
 Reservoir | |
  Location of Idriss I Dam in Morocco | |
| Official name | Barrage Idriss I |
| Country | Morocco |
| Location | Taza |
| Coordinates | 34°09′41″N 04°44′57″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) |
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]
References
- "Idriss I Hydroelectric Power Project Morocco". Global Energy Observatory. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- "Idriss I" (in French). Secretariat D'etat Charge de L'eau et de L'environnement. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- Findlay 1994
- Michele L. Thieme. 2005
- C. Michael Hogan. 2008
Bibliography
- Allan M. Findlay. 1994. The Arab world
- C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Barbary Macaque: Macaca sylvanus, GlobalTwitcher.com
- Michele L. Thieme. 2005. Freshwater ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: a conservation assessment 431 pages