The Obudu Dam is in
Obudu
Obudu is a local government area and town in Cross River State, Nigeria. The area features a tourist resort, Obudu Mountain Resort, which hosts an annual mountain running competition called the Obudu Ranch International Mountain Race. The town of O ...
local government area of
Cross River State
)
, image_map = Nigeria - Cross River.svg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Location of Cross River State in Nigeria
, coordinates =
, coor_pinpoint ...
in the south east of
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. It is an earth-fill structure with a height of 15 m and a total crest length of 425 m, and has a capacity of 4.2 million m
3.
The dam is located within the Obudu crystalline basement plateau, a low-lying undulating region of low seismic activity.
The dam was commissioned in 1999 for use in farm
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
, fishing, and also for recreational and tourism purposes.
In September 2000, the paramount ruler of Obudu local government area, Uti Agba, promised that his community would protect the facilities installed at the dam.
A massive rainstorm in July 2003, combined with release of excess water from the
Lagdo Dam in
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, damaged the spillway and caused flooding that destroyed over 200 houses. The estimated cost of repairing the damage and also completing the irrigation works was estimated at about N350 million.
[
A 2004 safety review reported that immediate work was required to restore the spillway, at an estimated cost of N272 million.][
In July 2009, the Federal government issued a tender for engineering supervision of remedial work on the dam including refurbishing or replacing hydro-mechanical parts, electrical installation and civil engineering infrastructure.
The dam has reduced downstream water volumes in Obudu town, causing acute scarcity of drinking water in the dry season.]
References
{{Dams in Nigeria
Dams in Nigeria
Cross River State
Dams completed in 1999
1999 establishments in Nigeria