Raising of Kamuzu Dam I & Rehabilitation of Kamuzu Dam II
This project comprises the raising of Kamuzu Dam I and the rehabilitation of Kamuzu Dam II. The two dams have a combined catchment area of 1,870 km2 and act as water balancing reservoirs for the Lilongwe River. It is estimated that a 5 m raising of Kamuzu Dam I would increase the yield to approximately 214,000 m3 per day to address demand to the year 2022.
Located on the Lilongwe River, 20 km southwest of Lilongwe City, Kamuzu Dam I was constructed in 1966 and has a storage capacity of 4.5 Mm3. The 21 m high dam comprises a 97 m long central spillway flanked by a 205 m long embankment on the left abutment, and a 90 m long embankment on the right abutment.
Kamuzu Dam II was built in 1989 with an initial storage capacity of 9.2 Mm3, and was rehabilitated and raised in 1999 to increase storage capacity to 19.8 Mm3.
We were appointed by Lilongwe Water Board to carry out the detailed design for the rehabilitation and raising of Kamuzu Dam I and the evaluation of Kamuzu Dam II.
Our scope of work included:
- Dam safety reviews
- Technical inputs for dam rehabilitation and raising
- Hydrological assessments
- Bathymetric surveys
- Topographic survey
- Detailed design for the rehabilitation of Kamuzu Dam I (raising supply level by 5 m with minimal disruption to the water supply)
- Detailed inspection of Kamuzu Dam II
- Tender prequalification and negotiation of construction contracts
- Preparing construction supervision and quality assurance plan, instrumentation plan and Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Plan
- Capacity building of client officials.
