Lake Nzilo (formerly Lake Delcommune, also Lac del Commune) 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 ...

formed by a hydroelectric dam on the

Lualaba River The Lualaba River flows entirely within the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It provides the greatest streamflow to the Congo River, while the source of the Congo is recognized as the Chambeshi. The Lualaba is long. Its headwaters are in ...

in the Haut-Lomami Province of the southern

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. It is about northeast of the major copper mining area of

Kolwezi Kolwezi or Kolwesi is the capital city of Lualaba Province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, west of Likasi. It is home to an airport and a railway to Lubumbashi. Just outside of Kolwezi there is the static inverter plant of ...

. The reservoir was originally named after the Belgian soldier and explorer

Alexandre Delcommune Alexandre Delcommune (6 October 1855 – 7 August 1922) was a Belgian officer of the armed ''Force Publique'' of the Congo Free State who undertook extensive explorations of the country during the early colonial period of the Congo Free State. He ...

Dam

The

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

with

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

power plant was built to provide power for copper mining operations. The infrastructure of this plant is four units and has a design capacity of 100MW. The last unit was commissioned in 1953. It is currently operated by SNEL (Societe Nationale d'Electricite).

Reservoir

The reservoir also provides a source of water for these operations. The site was an area of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s along the Lualaba River before it was dammed. Some of the habitat around the lake is

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s. It has been stocked with fish, and is now an important site for waterbirds.

Pollution and recreation

Although the lake is visibly polluted by the effluent from a copper mine,

schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody s ...

seems to thrive and a number of infections have been reported. As of 2007 the lake was popular with the expatriate community for weekend water sports.

References

Nzilo Haut-Lomami Nzilo {{DRCongo-geo-stub