Oyan River Dam
The Oyan River Dam is in Abeokuta North local government area of Ogun State in the West of Nigeria, about 20 km north west of the state capital Abeokuta. The dam crosses the Oyan River, a tributary of the Ogun River. It is used primarily to supply raw water to Lagos and Abeokuta, but has potential for use in irrigation and power generation.
Structure
The dam was commissioned on 29 March 1983 by president Shehu Shagari, and is operated by the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority. The lake is in the savannah region, with sparse trees and grasses and low fertility. It covers 4,000 hectares and has a catchment area of 9,000 km2. The dam has a crest length of 1044 m, height 30.4 m and gross storage capacity of 270 million m3. It was designed to supply raw water to Lagos and Abeokuta, and to support the 3,000 hectare Lower Ogun Irrigation Project. Three turbines of 3 megawatts each were installed in 1983 but as of 2007 had not been used.
Impact
During construction, 22 villages were submerged, with the displaced people moved to three settlement camps. Some of the settlers fish the lake and farm vegetables along the fertile shoreline as the lake recedes in the dry season. A 2009 study of levels of urinary schistosomiasis in the Ibaro-Oyan and Abule Titun communities, which depend on the Oyan Dam for their livelihood, found high levels of infection due to use of untreated water. An earlier study in 1990-1993 had indicated that the risk of the disease, which is carried by snails, could be greatly reduced if the reservoir were continuously discharged during the hot dry season.
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