Idriss I Dam

Coordinates: 34°09′41″N 04°44′57″W / 34.16139°N 4.74917°W / 34.16139; -4.74917
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Idriss I Dam
Reservoir
Idriss I Dam is located in Morocco
Idriss I Dam
Location of Idriss I Dam in Morocco
Official nameBarrage Idriss I
CountryMorocco
LocationTaza
Coordinates34°09′41″N 04°44′57″W / 34.16139°N 4.74917°W / 34.16139; -4.74917
StatusOperational
Opening date1973
Owner(s)Office National de L'Electricite (ONE)
Dam and spillways
Type of damGravity
ImpoundsInaouen River
Height72 m (236 ft)
Length447 m (1,467 ft)
Dam volume450,000 m3 (16,000,000 cu ft)
Reservoir
Total capacity1,186×10^6 m3 (962,000 acre⋅ft)
Catchment area3,300 km2 (1,300 sq mi)
Power Station
Commission date1978
Turbines2 x 20 MW (27,000 hp) Kaplan-type
Installed capacity40 MW (54,000 hp)[1]
Annual generation66 GWh (240 TJ)
Map of the dam, located at the upper left.

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 water 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 faced 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[edit]

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[edit]

References[edit]

  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. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
  3. ^ Findlay 1994
  4. ^ Michele L. Thieme. 2005
  5. ^ C. Michael Hogan. 2008

Bibliography[edit]