The Lake’s level continues to recede steadily, closing the period under review at 481.55m on 1st September 2021. From the last update made on 4th August 2021 when the recorded lake level was 482.16m, it has receded by 0.61m. Currently, the lake level is 6.05 meters above the Minimum Operating Level (MOL) of 475.50m. The recorded level of 1st September 2021 translates to 28.16 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) or 43.45% of usable or live storage. Last year on the same date, the Lake level was lower at 480.48m with 22.94BCM or 35.40% of usable storage, with the water being only 4.98m above the Minimum Operating Level.
Water Allocation for Power Generation at Kariba Dam for the year 2021
The Authority has maintained the 42 Billion Cubic Meters (BCM) combined water allocation for power generation operations at Kariba for 2021 after it was revised upward from 30 BCM on 25th June 2021. This decision is a result of the second quarter review of the hydrological outlook at Kariba that considered the normal to above normal rainfall performance and associated increased inflows into Lake Kariba. As of 31st August 2021, ZESCO Limited had utilised 17.35 BCM of its 21 BCM water allocation (83% utilisation), while the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) had utilised 15.72 BCM of its 21BCM water allocation (75% utilisation). This leaves a balance of 3.65 BCM and 5.28 BCM for ZESCO and ZPC, respectively, for utilisation during the remaining period of the year 2021.
The Authority is scheduled to undertake the next quarterly hydrological review at the end of September 2021, and this may result in either maintaining, increasing, or reducing the volume of water allocated for power generation operations at Kariba for the year 2021.