Sélingué Dam

The Sélingué Dam (French: Barrage de Sélingué) is an embankment dam with a gravity section located in the Sikasso Region, on the Sankarani River, one of the affluents of the Niger River. It is an important center of energy production in Mali surpassed only by the Manantali Dam on the Bafing River.

Sélingué Dam
Local people on the shore of Lake Sélingué
Location of Sélingué Dam in Mali
Official name	Barrage de Sélingué (French)
Location	Sikasso Region, Mali
Coordinates	11°38′17.7″N 8°13′47.2″W
Purpose	Power, irrigation
Construction began	1979
Opening date	1982
Construction cost	140 million US dollars
Operator(s)	Office of Rural Development of Sélingué
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Sankarani River
Height	23 metres (75 ft)
Length	2,600 metres (8,500 ft)
Spillway capacity	3,500 m3/s (120,000 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Creates	Lake Sélingué
Total capacity	2,630,000,000 m3 (2,130,000 acre⋅ft)
Surface area	430 km2 (170 sq mi)[1]
Power Station
Turbines	4 x 11 MW Kaplan-type
Installed capacity	44 MW
Annual generation	200 million kWh

Its construction, at the cost of 140 million US dollars, was financed by several backers.

The dam has a crest length of 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) and a height of 23 metres (75 ft).^[2] With a power output of 44 MW, the dam has an energy output of 200 million kilowatt-hours per year. The dam provides Bamako, Kati, Koulikoro, Ségou, Fana, Dioïla, Yanfolila and Kalana with electricity. It was brought into service in 1982, and renovated between 1996 and 2001.

The retaining basin of the dam forms the artificial Lake Sélingué. The water level has a maximum height of 349 metres (1,145 ft) but varies throughout the year. When full the lake stores 2.2 cubic kilometres (0.53 cu mi) of water and has an area of 409 square kilometres (158 sq mi).^[2] It allows agriculture on the irrigated perimeters, managed by the Office of Rural Development of Sélingué, as well as fishing.^[3]