Kariba lake levels start to recover
The lake levels at Kariba dam, which have been in recession in the last quarter of 2022, have been rising steadily following the onset of rains on and around the lake and Zambezi River upper catchment.
The year started with a low lake level of 475.61 m, or 0.83% of live storage available for power generation.
By February 16, the level had increased to 476.85 m, with six-billion cubic metres of stored usable water, or 9.32% of live storage, and 1.35 m above minimum operating level of 475.50 m.
This translates to a rise of 1.24 m since January 1 and an increase from the lowest record of 475.60 m, 10 cm above the minimum operating level recorded on December 30, 2022, the Zambezi River Authority said in its first update for 2023.
During the last 90 days for the 2022/23 rainfall season from November to February, the Kariba catchment received normal rainfall over most parts of the upper catchment and normal to below over the larger part of the lower catchment.
The Zambezi river flows recorded at Chavuma rose to 2 338 m3/s on January 27, a recovery from the 489 m3/s recorded on January 1. The flows were reported as receding and oscillating around 1 538 m3/s as at February 16, higher than the flows of 1 192 m3/s reported in February 2022.
The river flows are expected to continue rising until the end of the first quarter of 2023.
The Zambezi river flows monitored at Victoria Falls were at 502 m3/s on January 1, rising to 1 412 m3/s by February 16, a recovery from 989 m3/s recorded a year ago, with expectations that the flows will continue rising until its peak in the second quarter of 2023.
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