Felaga Explained

Felaga
Coords:	13.9096°N 39.7651°W
Type:	Freshwater artificial lake
Basin Countries:	Ethiopia
Area:	0.2153km2
Volume:	0.9e6m3
Elevation:	2786m (9,140feet)
Pushpin Map:	Ethiopia
Pushpin Label Position:	right
Cities:	Atsbi

Felaga is a reservoir located in the Atsbi Wenberta woreda of the Tigray Region in Ethiopia. The earthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 1996 by Tigray Bureau of Agriculture.^[1]

Dam characteristics

• Dam height: 11.9 metres
• Dam crest length: 115 metres
• Spillway width: 15 metres

Capacity

• Original capacity: 900000 m³
• Dead storage: 115000 m³
• Reservoir area: 21.53 ha

Irrigation

• Designed irrigated area: 75 ha
• Actual irrigated area in 2002: 40 ha

Environment

The catchment of the reservoir is 8.16 km² large. The reservoir suffers from rapid siltation.^{[2] [3]} The lithology of the catchment is Enticho Sandstone and precambrian rock.^[1] 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.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Book: De Wit . Joke . Stuwmeren in Tigray (Noord-Ethiopië): kenmerken, sedimentatie en sediment-bronnen. Unpub. M.Sc. thesis . 2003 . Department of Geography, K.U.Leuven.
2. Nigussie Haregeweyn . and colleagues . Reservoirs in Tigray: characteristics and sediment deposition problems . Land Degradation and Development . 2006 . 17 . 211–230 . 10.1002/ldr.698 . 129834993 . free .
3. Book: Vanmaercke. M. and colleagues . Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains . Sediment Yield and Reservoir Siltation in Tigray . GeoGuide . 2019 . Springer Nature . Cham (CH) . 345–357. 10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_23 . 978-3-030-04954-6 . 199112876 . https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-04955-3_23.
4. Nigussie Haregeweyn . and colleagues . Sediment yield variability in Northern Ethiopia: A quantitative analysis of its controlling factors . Catena . 2008 . 75 . 1 . 65–76 . 10.1016/j.catena.2008.04.011 . 2008Caten..75...65H .