| Abstract: | This paper examines the immediate and long-term effects of the Lagdo dam on the Upper Benue river basin in Nigeria. From routine monitoring of the River Benue, it was found that some immediate deleterious effects were (a) siltation of the river bed and channel, (b) frequent flooding events, and (c) reduction in flow. Consequently, these factors have constrained irrigation, navigation and fishing activities which were formerly undertaken along the river. Similarly, water-supply intake structures and irrigation abstraction facilities along the river have either been silted up or threatened. Allowing for assumptions on a real-time operational schedule of the dam, coupled with future water demands in north Cameroon, longterm effects of the dam on the Benue basin within Nigeria are predicted. |
