The Dadin Kowa Dam is located in Yamaltu Deba local government area of

Gombe State Gombe State (; ) is a States of Nigeria, state in North East (Nigeria), northeastern Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by the states of Borno State, Borno in the vicinity of Gongola River and Lake Dadin Kowa Dam, Dadin Kowa and Yobe S ...

in the

North east The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

part of

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. Dadin Kowa is 41.6 kilometers from Gombe metropolis. The dam is located about 37 kilometers to the east of the town Gombe and 5 km from the Dadin Kowa village, and provides drinking water for the town. The dam was completed by the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

in 1984, with the goal of providing irrigation and electricity for the planned

Gongola Gongola State is a former administrative division of Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from the Adamawa and Sardauna Provinces of North State, together with the Wukari Division of the then Benue-Plateau State. It existed until 27 Augu ...

sugar plantation project.

Description

The

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

which is designed to have a water capacity of 2.8 billion cubic meters making it the 2nd largest dam in the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and a surface area of 300 square kilometers, and has potential as a source of fishing. 26,000 people were displaced by the reservoir, receiving little assistance for resettlement. The reservoir is suspected to be a major breeding site for

black flies A black fly or blackfly (sometimes called a buffalo gnat, turkey gnat, or white socks) is any member of the family Simuliidae of the Culicomorpha infraorder. It is related to the Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, and Thaumaleidae. Over 2,200 speci ...

, which cause river blindness. The water supply project was built at a cost of about N8.2billion by CGC

, a Chinese company, completed during the administration of Governor

Mohammed Danjuma Goje Mohammed Danjuma Goje (born 10 October 1952) was a former Governor of Gombe State, Nigeria under the platform of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), taking office on 29 May 2003 during the 2003 Gombe State gubernatorial election. He is now a ...

. In 2010 it was providing about 30,000 cubic meters daily, treated at a plant three kilometers from the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

before being piped to storage reservoirs in Gombe while supplying communities along the road. In August 2001, the federal government announced that it would spend $32 million to complete. Dadin_Kowa_Reservoir

the Dadin Kowa Dam power generation facilities. In March 2009 N7 billion was allocated to complete the hydro-electrical generation component of the dam, and another N500 million to complete the canal, which would irrigate 6,600 hectares of farmland. In August 2009 Governor

Goje The goje (the Hausa language, Hausa name for the instrument) is one of the many names for a variety of one or one-stringed fiddles from West Africa, played by groups such as the Yoruba people, Yoruba in Sakara music and west African groups that ...

said that less than N600 million was needed to provide the canals. After prioritization by the government for completion of the project in 2016, the ministry concluded completion of the dam in August 2021. As of September 2021, the Ministry of Power hadn't enabled full use of energy from the

as part of the grid.

Appearance of Hippopotamus in the Dadin Kowa dam

Around 2015, a hippopotamus appeared in Dadin Kowa and became a threat to the community where it destroyed their farm produce and stopped them from going to their farms. According to one wildlife officer, he said the hippo came from Kiri Dam. He also said the hippo passed through Shani Local Government through some parts of Nafada and Funakaye Local Government Areas, the hippo was killed by the soldiers with the help of local hunters.

Federal Government Commissioned 40 mega watt Dadin Kowa hydro power project

The federal government has commissioned a 40 megawatt Dadin Kowa Hydropower Project in

MABON GROUP, a company had secured and was awarded 25 year build -operate-transfer concession in respect to the Dadin Kowa Hydropower plant project in

. Mabon has completed the hydropower plant project and has been operational and contributing power to the national grid since.

Climate

Dadin Kowa, which is 0 feet (0 meters) above sea level, has a tropical wet and dry or savanna climate (Classification: Aw). The district averages a yearly temperature of 31.55 oC (88.79 oF), which is 2.09% higher than the national average for Nigeria. 69.05 millimeters (2.72 inches) of precipitation and 99.44 rainy days (27.24 percent of the time) are typical yearly totals for Dadin Kowa.

References

{{Dams in Nigeria Dams in Nigeria Gombe State Dams completed in 1984 1984 establishments in Nigeria 20th-century architecture in Nigeria Flood control