Dibdibo is a
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
named after the homonymous village, located in the
Inticho
Enticho is a town in northern Ethiopia located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Region. It is the administrative center of Enticho woreda.
History
19th Century
Enticho is the location where on 1 July 1889 that Fitawrari Dabbab Araya (lat ...
''woreda'' of the
Tigray Region
The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray is ...
in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
. The
earthen dam
An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...
that holds the reservoir was built in 1999 by the
Relief Society of Tigray
The Relief Society of Tigray (abbreviated REST; ti, ማሕበራዊ ረዲኤት ትግራይ or ማረት, ''Maret'') is an NGO based in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. REST was founded in 1978 as an organisation providing relief efforts to civ ...
.
Dam characteristics
* Dam height: 17.8 metres
* Dam crest length: 433 metres
*
Spillway width: 15 metres
Capacity
* Original capacity: 1 022 900 m³
*
Dead storage: 153 435 m³
* Reservoir area: 17.24 ha
In 2002, the life expectancy of the reservoir (the duration before it is filled with sediment) was estimated at 22 years.
Irrigation
* Designed irrigated area: 100 ha
* Actual irrigated area in 2002: 70 ha
Environment
The
catchment
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ...
of the reservoir is 7 km² large. The reservoir suffers from rapid
siltation. The lithology of the catchment is
Adigrat Sandstone,
Enticho Sandstone
The Enticho Sandstone is a geological formation in north Ethiopia. It forms the lowermost sedimentary rock formation in the region and lies directly on the basement rocks. Enticho Sandstone consists of arenite that is rich in quartz. The formation ...
, tertiary basalt and Precambrian metavolcanics.
Part of the water that could be used for irrigation is lost through
seepage; the positive side-effect is that this contributes to
groundwater recharge
Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic process, where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the primary method through which water enters an aquifer. This process usually occurs in ...
.
References
{{reflist
Reservoirs in Ethiopia
1999 establishments in Ethiopia
Tigray Region