Albert Falls Dam

Albert Falls Dam
Location of Albert Falls Dam in KwaZulu-Natal
Official name	Albert Falls Dam
Country	South Africa
Location	Near Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal
Coordinates	29°26′10″S 30°23′18″E
Purpose	Irrigation and domestic
Opening date	1976
Owner(s)	Department of Water Affairs
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Earth fill dam
Impounds	Umgeni River
Height	33 metres (108 ft)
Length	2,006 metres (6,581 ft)
Reservoir
Creates	Albert Falls Dam Reservoir
Total capacity	290.1 million cubic metres (10.24×10^^9 cu ft)
Surface area	2,350 hectares (5,800 acres)

Albert Falls Dam is a dam in the Umgeni River, just outside Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Established in 1976, the dam has a gross capacity of 290.1 million cubic meters and a surface area of 23.521 square kilometres (9.082 sq mi). The dam wall is 33 metres (108 ft) high.

A lake-wide bloom of the dinoflagellate Ceratium hirundinella, discovered in Albert Falls Dam in October 2006, exposed a significant ecological change indicative of reduced water quality in this historically mesotrophic reservoir. The spatial distribution of the bloom was examined synoptically in October 2006 and in January 2007.^[1]

See also

• List of reservoirs and dams in South Africa
• List of rivers in South Africa

References

1. Hart, RC; Wragg, PD (23 May 2009). "Recent blooms of the dinoflagellate Ceratium in Albert Falls Dam (KZN): History, causes, spatial features and impacts on a reservoir ecosystem and its zooplankton". Water SA. 35 (4). doi:10.4314/wsa.v35i4.76807. ISSN 0378-4738.

• List of South African Dams from the Department of Water Affairs

This dam is used for fishing, swimming, boating, waterskiing, kneeboarding, sailing, and other water activities. The water is brown and murky.