The reasons for the low discharge of water from the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Dr. Abbas Sharqi explained that the fourth storage of the Renaissance Dam ended on September 8, 2023, with a total storage of 41 billion m3.

GERD Lake lost about 6 billion m3
Sharqi added on his Facebook personal account that the central corridor had been drained in mid-November to begin engineering works on the middle corridor in preparation for the fifth and final storage at the level of 640 metres above sea level. With a reservation of about 23 billion m3 to reach a total of 64 billion m3, the two drainage gates were closed on January 27, 2024, 3 months later, During which Renaissance Dam Lake lost about 6 billion m3 of the previous four years’ inventory without the lowest benefit to Ethiopia The total stock currently stands at 35 billion m3 and the lake level has fallen by about five metres.

During that period, turbine operation was weak, not dependent on water discharge, but after the closure of the two drainage gates, the only port of passage of water was through the weak operation of the turbine. At best, it would pass about 10-20 million m3/day and the drainage would stop completely with the interruption of the turbine, which happens most of the time. The average amount of water reaching the Renaissance Dam from Lake Tana in February is about 17 million m3, which will pass through turbine operation without affecting the current stock of 35 billion m3.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced during a session of the House of Representatives yesterday, February 6, 2023, that the filling of the Renaissance Dam would no longer be debated, and his country’s willingness to negotiate the Renaissance Dam, and that Addis Ababa was ready to listen to and address the demands of the Egyptian people as best Ethiopia can.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister added that information alleging that Ethiopia’s filling of the Renaissance Dam would lead to a reduction in the water volume of the Aswan Dam had been refuted in practice.

The Renaissance Dam had proved the fact that there would be no harm to the lower river basin States.