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The Government of the Republic of Mozambique (GOM) has received a grant from the
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), an innovative United States established
foreign assistance program designed to reduce poverty by promoting sustainable
economic growth. The MCC operates on the principle that aid is most effective in
countries that promote good governance, economic freedom and investments in people.
The GOM, through MCA (Millennium Challenge Account-Mozambique, a public
institution created by the GOM) and its National Directorate of Water (DNA-GOH) organ,
intends to use a portion of the proceeds of this grant, to carry out feasibility studies
relating to the rehabilitation and augmentation of the Nacala Dam and Reservoir.
The Nacala Dam is located on the Muecula River approximately 30 kilometres south
west of Nacala. The dam is the primary water source for the town of Nacala which is
situated approximately 200 kilometres north east of Nampula City. This underlies the
importance of the dam for the future development of Nacala Town and its port.
The Nacala Dam was designed and constructed from 1968 to 1975. In 1982 the dam
wall was overtopped for 10 consecutive hours due to the non operation of the spillway
gates. This resulted in high seepage through the defective concrete on the right hand
side of the spillway which flooded the fill downstream of the core and may have been the
trigger for the concentrated erosion of the embankment in this area. In 1983 the wash
away area was reinstated and a layer of stone pitching was placed on the downstream
face of the wall as a protective measure against the possibility of future overtopping.
Further repairs were undertaken in 1995 and 2002 resulting in a pre-feasibility study into
the possibility of rehabilitating and raising the dam wall which was undertaken by
Michael Baker Jr. Inc. (Baker) in 2006.
In June 2009 Jeffares and Green (Pty) Ltd (J&G) were appointed to undertake the
Nacala Dam Feasibility Study, Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, Design
and Supervision Project. The Feasibility Study consists of many aspects and in
addressing these aspects J&G has developed a suite of reports comprising six volumes,
with a volume for each of the key parts of the study. This document represents the
Hydrological Report (Report No. FS/2010/HI02) which is Volume 2 of the suite of
reports.
As a result of the above mentioned requirements the investigation was broken down into
four main sections:
• Yield hydrology
• Environmental flow requirements
• Sediment yield
• Flood hydrology
Yield Hydrology
In essence, the purpose of the yield hydrology analysis was to assess the water
resource capability (or “yield”) of Nacala Dam, both currently and after it has been
raised. In addition to this assess the impacts of making releases to support downstream
environmental flow requirements and the possible long-term loss of available storage in
the dam as a result of sedimentation. The analysis included a number of aspects such
as the following:
• The analysis and processing of hydro-meteorological data (i.e. rainfall,
evaporation and streamflow) and the application of these in a rainfall-runoff
modelling process
• The determination of the physical basin characteristics of Nacala Dam, the
impacts of sedimentation and the magnitude and temporal distribution of
appropriate environmental flow releases.
• Yield analyses were undertaken for selected scenarios based on the above
information.
Notes: (1) Full supply level, shown in metres above mean sea level.
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(2) Mean annual runoff, which equals 11.7 million m /a (as discussed in Section 2.6.3).
(3) Desktop Class C environmental flow requirement (EFR).
(4) Sediment allocation to live storage over a planning period of 50 years.
A summary of the results obtained from the yield analysis is provided in the table below.
Notes: (1) Historical firm yield, based on an analysis over a 50-years period, from 1956 to 2005 (hydrological years).
(2) Recurrence interval of failure, in years, based on a long-term stochastic yield analysis of 201 50-year
generated streamflow sequences.
The Desktop Model produced the following figure for the EFR:
2.497 Mm3/ann = 21.4 % MAR
Due to a shortage of information empirical methods were largely used as a basis for the
calculation of the Safety Evaluation Flood (SEF) and the Recommended Design Flood
(RDF). The local Mozambican Guidelines for dam classification were consulted along
with the South African National Committee on Large Dams (SANCOLD) Guidelines. The
Francou Rodier Method was used for the calculation of the SEF with a K factor of 5.2
being applicable as per the specifications from the SANCOLD Guidelines. Five methods
were used to calculate the intermediate return periods (specifically the 1:200 year return
period) for the RDF. Some of these methods were empirically based and some
deterministic. The RDF figure was then routed through the impoundment using the
process of Level Pool Routing.
The results presented in this report were then used in the preliminary design of the
spillway and the raised embankment (refer to Volume 4, Preliminary Design Report,
FS/2010/PD04).