The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has commented on purported pictures of the Kariba Dam that have been circulating on social media platforms. ZRA said in a statement;
The Zambezi River Authority (the Authority) has noted with concern, photographs of the plunge pool that have been circulated on social media with erroneous captions alleging that it is the current state of the world’s largest man-made water body by volume, Lake Kariba.
Please be advised that there is a difference between Lake Kariba, which is the large water reservoir on the upstream side of the Kariba Dam wall (the concrete structure) and the plunge pool, which is an 80m deep pool on the immediate downstream side of the Kariba Dam.
This pool was drilled down to this level by water pressure during spilling when flood gates are opened. Simply put, the plunge pool is NOT Lake Kariba.
Razel Bec of France was contracted by ZRA to rehabilitate the plunge pool, with the project running from 2017 to 2025. ZRA said:
It is also worth mentioning that the Authority, through its Contractor, Razel Bec of France, has been working on the Kariba Dam Rehabilitation Project (KDRP) since 2017.
This is a $294-million-dollar project aimed at restoring the safety and structural integrity of the Kariba Dam so as to increase its lifespan and enable it efficiently to serve the people of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
