Hiza’iti Wedi Cheber 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 ...

located in the Inderta ''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 ...

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 1997 by the Tigray Bureau of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Dam characteristics

* Dam height: 14.5 metres * Dam crest length: 598 metres * Spillway width: 30 metres * Original capacity: 1 240 000 m³ * Designed irrigated area: 80 ha * Actual irrigated area in 2002: 50 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 33 km² large, with a perimeter of 24.6 km and a length of 6910 metres. The reservoir suffers from rapid siltation. The lithology of the catchment is Antalo Limestone and Mekelle Dolerite. 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 ...

. Actually the whole valley bottom down to Chelekwot benefits from this seepage water, that emerges in various springs and is particularly used for irrigation agriculture.

References

{{reflist Reservoirs in Ethiopia 1997 establishments in Ethiopia Tigray Region