Akosombo Dam (1).pptx

akosombo dam

1. AKOSOMBO DAM BY - SHAILENDRA CHAUHAN RATUL PANJA IIT JODHPUR CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

2. LOCATION OF AKOSOMBO DAM Located at Volta river in south-eastern Ghana on Volta river Basin.

3. Building of the Akosombo Dam takes almost a period of two decades of planning which began in 1947. Actual construction took place within 1962-1972 by the management of the Volta River Authority (VRA ). Jointly financed by  government of Ghana, the World Bank, the United States, and the United Kingdom. 3 phase of the project Phase one was installation of 588MW unit of electricity completed in 1966. Phase two involved addition of 304MW electricity results total of 912MW electricity. Last phase consist of setting up of a smaller hydro-electric power(HEP) dam, 21km downstream, at Kpong. HISTORY

4.  T o make VALCO (Volta Aluminum Company) energy sufficient so that its activity which is mainly aluminum smelting would be proceed without interruption .  T o supply electricity for both domestic and industrial use and also export to the basin sharing countries (Benin and Togo ). To provide opportunities for large-scale irrigation, modernization of agriculture, promotion of factories and industries, and the establishment of tourist facilities. OBJECTIVE

5. Dam and spillways Type of dam Embankment, rock-fill Impounds White Volta, Black Volta, Oti River Discharge Lower Volta River Height (foundation) 114 m (374 ft) Length 660 m (2,170 ft) Width (base) 366 m (1,201 ft) Dam volume 7,900,000 m 3  (280,000,000 cu ft) Spillways Twin gate-controlled Spillway capacity 34,000 m 3 /s (1,200,000 cu ft/s) DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS

6. Reservoir Creates Lake Volta ( largest man-made lake) Total capacity 148 km 3  (120,000,000 acre⋅ft) Surface area 8,502 km 2  (3,283 sq mi) Maximum length 400 km (250 mi) Power Station Hydraulic head 68.8 m (226 ft) (max) Turbines 6 x 170 MW (230,000 hp)  Francis-type Penstock specifications 112-116 m long with 7.2 m diameter Installed capacity 1,072  MW (1,392,000 hp ) as per VRA 2010 DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS (contd.)

7. 85% of all electricity generated in Ghana leads to economic and industrial development provides by Akosombo HEP.   B oost Ghana’s economy twice the average of the West African sub regions. Volta Lake leads to increase in fishing stock. Farming activities is also intensified along the 5500 km shoreline especially locations downstream of the lake. Navigation on the Volta river has changed significantly serving as a mean for transportation for goods. The direct tourism impact resulting from the lake includes opening up part of hitherto inaccessible attractions to both local and international travellers. SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS

8. Generation of total hydro generation of 5,960GWh from the Akosombo and Kpong Hydro Generating Stations in the year of 2010 which is 2% greater than 2009. Average plant discharge in 2010 at Akosombo GS 1,201.85 cu.m/sec which is 0.5% grater than the year of 2009. The average unit availability attained at the Akosombo was 96.87% above a set target of 94%. Ratio of gross hydro generation to firm capability of Akosombo is132.74% in 2010. SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS (contd.)

9. There has been a steady decline in agricultural productivity along the lake and the associated tributaries. Downstream agricultural systems are losing soil fertility without the periodic flooding that brought nutrients to the soil before the natural river flow was halted by the dam. The land surrounding Lake Volta is not nearly as fertile as the formerly cultivated land residing underneath the lake. Heavy agricultural activity has exhausted already because of inadequate soils. EFFECT ON ECOLOGY

10. The growth of commercially intensive agriculture has produced a rise in fertilizer run-off into the river leads to eutrophication of the river waters. The nutrient enrichment, in combination with the low water movement, has allowed for the invasion of aquatic weeds which creates a formidable challenge to water navigation and transportation. EFFECT ON ECOLOGY (contd.)

11. Displacement of 80,000 people across 700 villages in low lying areas and resettle them into 52 new villages lead to the lost of the original communities resulted in many socio-physiological problems in the communities. The Volta lake creation leads to a loss of 3.6% of the total land surface of Ghana including forest land to the reservoir.  As a result of less arable land to farm the men switch to fishing while most of the women were involved in prostitution as a profession to satisfy the male workers whom were building the dam. CHALLENGES ON SOCIAL ACTIVITY

12. For fish and other aquatic biota, due to the ability of the dam to alter or blocking the migration resulting in genetic disconnect between species population. Injustice to the communities upstream and downstream is that it took three decades to be connected to the national electricity grids. CHALLENGES ON SOCIAL ACTIVITY (contd.)

13. The upstream and downstream communities are among the poorest in the country lacking access to basic necessities like hospital, roads, proper sanitation and water facilities. The lost land lead to decline in the primary economic activities of crop and livestock farming for most of the communities both downstream and upstream of the dam. The extensive human migration and degradation of natural resources within the Volta-basin area, are the products of poverty in conjunction with population pressure. T he rural and industrial economies have experienced the financial losses associated with the decimation of river aquaculture. CHALLENGES ON ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

14. The presence of aquatic weeds provide the necessary habitat for black-fly, mosquitoes and snails, which are the vectors of water-borne illnesses such as bilharzia ( 2% to 32% at downstream and 0.5% to 27.4% in upstream), river blindness and malaria (increased by an average of 10% both upstream and downstream ). Children and fishermen have been especially hard hit by this rise of disease prevalence. This migration enabled the contraction of HIV and has since led to its heightened prevalence within Volta Basin communities. IMPACT ON HUMAN WALFARE

15. Increase in seismic activities (4 major earthquakes of magnitude 5 or higher have been recorded in the area) around the dam since the construction of the lake. Believing that  earthquakes are due to the overloading of the geological bedrock underlying the lake with which is triggering the active Akwapim fault. Sediments load have decrease by about 60mg/l downstream of the dam as a result of the impoundment. The lack of sediment has lead to the erosion of the coastline in the neighbouring Togo and Benin at a rate of 10-15m/y. IMPACT ON GEOLOGY

16. Morphology of the delta have shifted 12 km eastward from the original lower Volta entre point to the sea leading to coastal erosion at Ada. In accordance with the behaviour of tropical dam microclimate the temperature and rainfall in the south eastern part of Ghana is higher than the average in other parts of the basin. IMPACT ON GEOLOGY (contd.)

17. POLITICAL MOTIVES Initially 20% of Akosombo Dam's electric output (serving 70% of national demand) was provided to Ghanaians in the form of electricity, the remaining 80% was generated for the American-owned Volta Aluminum Company (VALCO).  The Ghana Government was compelled, by contract, to pay for over 50% of the cost of Akosombo's construction, but the country was allowed only 20% of the power generated. Neocolonialism - Power to make decisions about development (sustainable or otherwise) provided to powerful actors (the Prime Minister of Ghana, the Ghanaian Government, the World Bank, the USA, the UK, the Export-Import Bank of America, and several companies) Ideally, those people would have been enabled made decisions that affected the lives of rural fishers and farmers who had scarce power, representation or resources. to participate in a decision-making process that was to have such profound implications for their lives.

18. CONTROVERSIES STRENGTH WEAKNESS The Akosombo HEP provides over 85% of all electricity generated in Ghana which encouraged economic and industrial development in Ghana Today an estimated 60% of the population has access to electricity including 20% of the rural communities. Urban dwellers are being more beneficial than the people affected by the dam.    Over two-thirds of all the electricity generated goes to industries and commercial entities leading to rapid expansion and immigration of industries into Ghana and resulting Ghana’s economy is twice the average of the West African sub region.  Ghana’s overreliance on HEP have hamper the development of alternative renewable energy sources which have affected the country in times of drought. In years of drought where HEP energy generation has been poor, unemployment rate rises exponential attesting to a positive externality of the Akosombo dam Sustainable Development Akosombo Dam involved a trade-off between environment and development. It created, rather than reduced, poverty for many people (those who were displaced by the creation of Lake Volta).

19. OPPORTUNITIES THREATS VRA undertook some activities towards the fulfillment of non-generation goals like the creation of the Akosombo Textiles Company, Kpong Farms Limited, the Akosombo Hotel Limited and Volta Lake Transport Company Limited (VLTC) to boast jobs and economic activity within the region. Inhabitants did not have the specialized skills and education levels required to take advantage of working in textiles industries or operating advanced machinery in the 1960’s.  The generation of electricity as stated earlier lead to the positive economic and industrial development along the eastern coast of Ghana. Even after 50 years of operation, that the majority of the affected people by the project were not connected to the national grid until recently . Large-scale irrigation, modernization of agriculture, promotion of factories and industries, and the establishment of tourist facilities The resettlement of the communities and the compensation promised to the inhabitants were not fully paid, farming lands were insufficient for the villages. VRA irrigation and modernization of agriculture programs collapsed. CONTROVERSIES (contd.)

20. https ://www.ukessays.com/essays/environmental-sciences/case-study-of-the-akosombo-hydroelectric-dam-environmental-sciences-essay.php https://www.soas.ac.uk/cedep-demos /000 _P501_USD_K3736-Demo/unit1/page_19.htm https ://www.britannica.com/topic/Akosombo-Dam Gyau-Boakye , P. 2001.  Environmental impacts of the akosombo dam and effects of climate change on the lake levels . Environment, Development and Sustainability 3(1): 17–29. REFERENCES

21. Fobil , J.N., D.K. Attaquayefio , and Volta Basin Research Project [VBRP]. 2003.  Remediation of the environmental impacts of the Akosombo and Kpong dams . HORIZON Solutions Site: Public Health. Yale University Department of Biology: HORIZON International . https:// www.vra.com/resources/annual_reports/2010.pdf Suave , N., A. Dzokoto , B. Opare et al. 2002.  The price of development: HIV infection in a semiurban community of Ghana . Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes [JAIDS] 20(4): 402–408. REFERENCES

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