Hydrology

Report Reveals How Uganda Dams are Draining World's Second Largest LakeA report by an independent Kenya–based hydrologic engineer confirms that over–releases from two dams on the Nile in Uganda are a primary cause of the severe drops in Lake Victoria in recent years. The report, Connections Between Recent Water Level Drops in Lake Victoria, Dam Operations and Drought, finds that about 55% of the lake’s drop during 2004–05 is due to the Owen Falls dams (now known as Nalubaale and Kiira dams) releasing excessive amounts of water from the lake. The natural rock formation controlling Lake

The World Bank’s approval today of $360 million in loans and guarantees for Uganda’s Bujagali Dam was based on a flawed study that downplays critical findings on climate change, hydrology and fisheries, according to a team of independent experts commissioned by Ugandan and US nongovernmental organizations. The dam could be disastrous for Lake Victoria, the world’s largest tropical lake, and a drag on Uganda’s economy. And its high cost means its electricity will not be affordable to the majority of Ugandans. International Rivers’s Lori Pottinger says, "The dam was a fait accompli fro

This report, by hydrologist Daniel Kull, shows how a change in the hydrological regime of the White Nile, proposed as part of the development of Bujagali Dam, could harm the recovery of Lake Victoria, which has already excessive releases from two existing dams.

Commissioned by International Rivers and Environmental Defense By May 2005, the World Bank and Asian Development Bank are expected to decide whether or not to finance the US$1.3 billion Nam Theun 2 hydropower project in Lao PDR. If completed, the project would displace more than 6,200 indigenous people and negatively affect the livelihoods of up to 100,000 villagers living downstream. The World Bank claims that the project has been carefully planned so that, unlike past hydro projects, people displaced or otherwise threatened will not be left worse off. As well, the Bank claims that the dam&rs

A technical review for the Nam Theun 2 Hydropower Project in Laos has found that the analysis of hydrologic data for the project is so deficient that it is impossible to predict how much water is available for power generation. The review, conducted by two professional hydrologists, examined the project’s Environmental Assessment and Management Plan and supporting data. The reviewers found that the lack of long–term stream flow and rain flow monitoring, coupled with questionable statistical analysis techniques, makes the project "high risk for meeting its power generation pred

IRN and Environmental Defense commissioned an independent review of the hydrologic treatment of the Nam Theun 2 project, contained in the Environmental Assessment and Management Plan (EAMP). The reviewers conclude that the project is high risk for meeting its power generation predictions and for estimating potential project impacts.