Watari Dam is a
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 ...
located in
Bagwai Local Government area in the north west of
Kano State
Kano (Hausa language, Hausa: ) is one of the 36 States of Nigeria, states of Nigeria, located in the Northern Region, Nigeria, northern region of the country. According to the national census done in 2006, Kano State is the List of Nigerian st ...
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, ...
. It was constructed between 1977 and 1980 at a cost of
Nigerian Naira
The naira (sign: ₦; code: NGN; , , , ) is the currency of Nigeria. One naira is divided into 100 ''kobo''.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the sole issuer of legal tender money throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It controls t ...
₦7,108,000.00.
The community uses the water for agricultural purposes in the area. There is a water pump that sends water from the dam to other parts of
Kano City
Kano ( Ajami: كَنُواْ) is a city in northern Nigeria and the capital of Kano State. It is the second largest city in Nigeria after Lagos, with over four million citizens living within . Located in the savanna, south of the Sahel, Kano ...
and other towns in the state such as
Bichi and
Bagwai.
It is the third largest dam in Kano State with a total storage capacity of 104.55Mm2. The purpose for the building of the dam is for
flood control
Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...
and irrigation, fisheries and the secondary benefit include recreation water supply and wild conservation.
One of the most tragic incidents that occurred in the Watari Dam was the
Bagwai boat disaster on November 30, 2021.
References
Dams in Nigeria
Kano State
Yobe State
Dams completed in 1974
20th-century architecture in Nigeria
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