| Lake Nzilo | |
| Location: | Haut-Lomami Province |
| Coords: | -10.5597°N 25.628°W |
| Type: | Reservoir |
| Catchment: | Lualaba River |
| Basin Countries: | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Area: | 200km2[1] |
| Elevation: | 1200m (3,900feet) |
| Pushpin Map: | Democratic Republic of the Congo#Africa |
| Pushpin Map Alt: | Location of Lake Nzilo in Democratic Republic of the Congo. |
Lake Nzilo (formerly Lake Delcommune, also Lac del Commune) is a reservoir formed by a hydroelectric dam on the Lualaba River in the Haut-Lomami Province of the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It is about 10miles northeast of the major copper mining area of Kolwezi.
The reservoir was originally named after the Belgian soldier and explorer Alexandre Delcommune.
See main article: Nzilo Hydroelectric Power Station.
The dam with hydroelectric power plant was built to provide power for copper mining operations.[2]
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).[3]
The reservoir also provides a source of water for these operations.
The site was an area of wetlands along the Lualaba River before it was dammed. Some of the habitat around the lake is swamps.
It has been stocked with fish, and is now an important site for waterbirds.[4]
Although the lake is visibly polluted by the effluent from a copper mine, schistosomiasis seems to thrive and a number of infections have been reported.[5]
As of 2007 the lake was popular with the expatriate community for weekend water sports.