NAIROBI, Kenya, May 3 – KenGen plans to raise Masinga Dam by 1.5 meters to contain water overflow and hold more water during heavy rainy seasons.
Already, the level of water at the dam, which is Kenya’s largest power-generating reservoir, has reached 1,058.22 meters, above its holding capacity of 1,058.13 meters as of May 2020.
KenGen attributes the upsurge to a significant rise in the amount of water currently flowing into the dam, averaging more than 850 m3 per second over the last week, caused by heavy rainfall in the dam’s catchment area.
The power producer added that all its large hydropower dams in the Seven Forks have reached full supply capacity and now hold a combined volume of more than 2.6 billion cubic meters against a total flow from the River Tana estimated at five billion cubic meters.
Other dams in the Seven Forks cascade are Kamburu, Gitaru, Kindaruma, and Kiambere.
“The Seven Forks dams hold the bulk of the water flowing from River Tana, way more than half the volume, which would otherwise be flooding areas downstream of the Dams thereby reducing the damage caused by the ongoing rains,” said KenGen Managing Director and CEO Peter Njenga.
According to reports by EPRA released on April 29, 2024, against a peak demand of 2,033 MW, KenGen’s hydro contributed 36.5 percent, while geothermal accounted for 32 percent.
In November 2023, KenGen predicted that Masinga Dam was likely to reach full supply capacity and overflow in April 2024, which has come to pass.
At that time, KenGen issued an early warning to communities living near the dams and rivers to relocate and move to higher ground to avoid loss of lives and property.
