Sobradinho Dam

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Sobradinho is both a dam and an artificial lake located in the north of the Brazilian state of Bahia and a city with the same name located near the lake. The lake is about 320 km long, with a surface of 4,214 square kilometers and a storage capacity of 34.1 cubic kilometers at its nominal elevation of 392.50 meters, making it the 12th-largest artificial lake in the world. The lake encloses the waters of the São Francisco River, one of the largest and most important rivers in Brazil.

Sobradinho

Coordinates 9°28′00″S, 40°48′30″WCoordinates: 9°28′00″S, 40°48′30″W
Primary inflows São Francisco River
Primary outflows São Francisco River
Catchment area 498,425 km²
Basin countries Brazil
Surface area 4220 km²
Average depth 8.6 m
Max. depth 30 m
Water volume 34100 mio m³
Residence time (of lake water) 0.35 years
Surface elevation 392.5 m
The reservoir, which represents 60.4% of the hydroenergetic resources of the Northeast of Brazil, has conditions to guarantee the power supply for the region for two years but its water level is very undependable. In some years the drought can be so critical that the energy supply is in doubt. In October 2001 it had only 5.46% of its useful volume of 28 cubic kilometers per second, with November rains upriver improving the situation.

The Sobradinho dam has a maximum height of 41 meters and a total length of 12.5 km; its power plant has 6 generating units with Kaplan turbines with a unitary power of 175,050 kW, totalling 1,050,300 kW.

The dam has a lock, whose chamber is 120 meters long and 17 meters wide allowing boats to surpass the barrier of the 32.5 meters created by the dam, and guaranteeing the continuation of the navigation between Pirapora, Minas Gerais and Juazeiro, Bahia - Petrolina, Pernambuco.


The City of Sobradinho, Bahia
There is a city with the name of Sobradinho located near the dam. The population is 38,000 and the area of the municipality is 1.324 km². Once part of the municipality of Juazeiro it grew with the construction of the dam and the flooding of the huge lake. With the creation of the lake the inhabitants of four cities and 30 villages had to leave their homes. In all 11,853 families (more than 70 thousand people) abandoned the old towns before the end of 1977. Of this total, 5,806 families remained in rural lots around the lake and 3,851 families moved to the new towns, including Sobradino.