Albert Falls Dam

29°26′10″S 30°23′18″E / 29.43611°S 30.38833°E / -29.43611; 30.38833PurposeIrrigation and domesticOpening date1976Owner(s)Department of Water AffairsDam and spillwaysType of damEarth fill damImpoundsUmgeni RiverHeight33 metres (108 ft)Length2,006 metres (6,581 ft)ReservoirCreatesAlbert Falls Dam ReservoirTotal capacity290.1 million cubic metres (10.24×10^⁹ cu ft)Surface area2,350 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

• 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.