Water levels in Lake Malawi have increased to reach the highest level in eight years, authorities have said.
According to National Water Resources Authority, in the 2020/2021 hydrological year (November to October) the water levels in Lake Malawi were recorded at 475.03masl meters above sea level, the highest for the past eight years.
Malawi recorded its lowest water levels in December 2020 at 473.86 meters above sea levels
Speaking to MIJ Online, Engineer Tony Nyasulu-Director of Water Resources has attributed the increase to adequate rainfall Malawi received last year as well as water management systems at Liwonde using the Kamuzu Barrage.
Nyasulu said the increase in lake levels is likely to continue in the current year as levels are already above those of 2021 during the same period.
“The increasing trend in Lake Levels had been achieved with an increase in rainfall over the lake and in its catchment area well as NWRA’s regulation of lake levels and Shire River flows at Liwonde, using the Kamuzu Barrage,” said Nyasulu
The development has seen an adequate supply of water for hydro-power generation as well as other uses, according to Nyasulu.
“National Water Resources Authority has been able to adequately make water resources available to Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO) for hydropower productions well as to other stakeholders within the Lake Malawi-Shire River system for their use in the 2020/2021 hydrological year,” he said.