Project Detail
Field experiment in Gerbmhiz dam Ethiopia in 2004 and 2005
A field experiment for sediment removal from Gerbmhiz dam was performed in 2004 and 2005. A
100 mm GTO reservoir dredge was applied. The field experiment was sponsored and supervised
by GTO.
Reservoir volume is 1,3 mill m3. This is one of several hundred reservoirs of its kind in Ethiopia,
which was built to secure irrigation after the famine in mid 80’s and now gradually is filling with
sediments.
The reservoir provides irrigation water for farmland that feeds 1600 people. 13 000 m3 will have to
be removed annually to maintain the reservoir. (I.e. removal of 8 m3 annually will “feed” one
person.)
One of the main findings of this study is that the dredged water and sediment mixture can be used
for irrigation purposes – in that way sediments are removed without any loss of water.