Sobradinho reservoir
| Sobradinho reservoir | |||||
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| Coordinates | 9 ° 28 ′ 0 ″ S , 40 ° 48 ′ 30 ″ W | ||||
| Data on the structure | |||||
| Construction time: | 1973-1979 | ||||
| Height of the barrier structure : | 41 m | ||||
| Crown length: | 12,500 m | ||||
| Power plant output: | 1050 MW | ||||
| Data on the reservoir | |||||
| Altitude (at congestion destination ) | 393 m | ||||
| Water surface | 4214 km² | ||||
| Storage space | 34.1 billion m³ | ||||
The Sobradinho Reservoir (Lago de Sobradinho) is a dam in the north of the Brazilian state of Bahia , construction of which began in 1972. There is also a town of the same name near the reservoir ( Sobradinho ), which gave it its name. The reservoir is approximately 320 km long, has a surface area of 4214 square kilometers and a storage space of 34.1 cubic kilometers (billion cubic meters) at a full storage height of 392.50 meters above sea level, making it the 12th largest artificial lake on earth . The lake is fed by the Rio São Francisco , which is one of the largest rivers in Brazil .
The barrier structure, a dam , the Sobradinho dam has a maximum height of 41 meters and a crown length of 12.5 km.
The reservoir is used to generate electricity from hydropower and represents 60% of the hydropower reserves of northeast Brazil. It is operated by the CHESF (Companhia Hidrelétrica do São Francisco). The connected hydropower plant has six Kaplan turbines and generators with a nominal output of 175.05 MW each, for a total of 1,050.3 MW. The contents of the storage tank are sufficient to supply the region with energy for two years, but the flow of water is very irregular. In some years the drought is so severe that the electricity supply is in danger. In October 2001, for example, only 5.46% of the usable space of 28 billion cubic meters was filled. In July 2006, however, the dam was well filled.
There is a lock for shipping , the chamber of which is 120 meters long and 17 meters wide. With it, the ships can overcome the 32.5 m high barrier. This means that ship connections between Pirapora in Minas Gerais and Juazeiro in Bahia and Petrolina in Pernambuco are possible, even if this ship connection is currently rarely used.
For the construction of the reservoir, more than 70,000 people were resettled, largely against their will. There is still some dispute about the compensation for the resettlement and the promised support services for the resettled people.
Web links
- The lock of Sobradinho (bras.)
- Hidrovia de São Francisco (Bras.)
- Background to the construction and relocation
