The Mukurumudzi Dam is the primary water source for the Kwale Mineral Sands Project which mines

titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...

and

zircon Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of th ...

minerals from the dunes in the area south of

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

, Kenya. The Kwale Project is operated by the Australian mining company, Base Resources, and is located 10 kilometres inland from the Kenyan coast and 50 kilometres south of Mombasa, Kenya's principal port facility. Design and construction management for the dam was undertaken by Wave International Pty Ltd in association with ARQ. Construction of the dam started in January 2012 with completion in August 2013, and was undertaken by a local Kenya Civil Contractor, Hayer Bishan Singh & Sons Ltd.

Design

The Mukurumudzi Dam is a 24m high homogeneous

earthfill dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface ...

, with a low permeability central core and cut-off key and grout curtain, to limit seepage under the dam. The outlet works comprise a reinforced concrete

intake tower An intake tower or outlet tower is a vertical tubular structure with one or more openings used for capturing water from reservoirs and conveying it further to a hydroelectric or water-treatment plant. Unlike spillways, intake towers are intended ...

and a reinforced concrete draw-off

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...

and associated pipe work. The dam embankment consists of of silty-sand originating from the local area. Due to a lack of suitable clay materials in the area, an impermeable central bentonite-cement-soil cut-off membrane was constructed successively with the embankment. The

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

discharges into the Mukurumudzi River. It is located on the left flank with a wide, uncontrolled concrete overflow, ogee spillway crest and spillway channel lined with reinforced concrete for the first . The dam impounds some 8.4 x 106 m³ at full supply level and has a catchment area of 133 km². The maximum water level is set at above sea level and the top of the dam embankment wall is at above sea level which gives a dam wall height of , a wall length of and a maximum contained volume of . The dam supply is supplemented from the Gongoni borefield when water levels drop below .

References

{{Reflist Dams in Kenya