Sennar Dam

{{Short description|Dam in Al Jazirah, Sudan}} {{Infobox dam | name = Sennar Dam | image = SnrDam.JPG | dam_crosses = Blue Nile | location = Sennar, Al Jazirah, Sudan | dam_type = Gravity | dam_length = {{convert|9925|ft|disp=flip}} | dam_height = {{convert|130|ft|disp=flip}} | coordinates = {{Coord|13|32|50|N|33|38|07|E|display=it|region:SD-25_type:landmark_source:dewiki}} | opening = 1926 }}

[[File:Sennardam.jpg|thumb|The Sennar Dam and Blue Nile, photo by crew of Discovery, STS-29, March 15, 1989]] The '''Sennar Dam''' is an irrigation dam on the Blue Nile near the town of Sennar in the Al Jazirah region of Sudan. The dam is {{convert|9925|ft|disp=flip}} long and has a maximum height of {{convert|130|ft|disp=flip}}. It was designed by the Scottish engineer Sir Murdoch MacDonald,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Prowde |first=Oswald Longstaff |year=1926 |title=The Gezira Irrigation Scheme, Including the Sennar Dam on the Blue Nile |journal=Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |volume=222 |issue=1926 |page=80|doi=10.1680/imotp.1926.14156 }}</ref> begun in 1914 and completed in 1925 by the British contractor S Pearson & Sons.

==Construction== Work on the dam started in 1914, but was almost immediately interrupted by the outbreak of World War I. Work recommenced in 1919, the contractors being the Sudan Construction Company, who carried on the work until 1921 when work was stopped for a second time as it became clear that the estimated cost of the scheme would be considerably exceeded.<ref name=Winchester>{{cite book |last=Winchester |first=Clarence |year=1938 |chapter=Conquest of the Desert |title=Wonders of World Engineering |pages=289–295 |url= http://wondersofworldengineering.com/sennar-dam.html |access-date=4 January 2015}}</ref>

In 1922, with further funds obtained, six British firms were invited to tender to complete the dam and build the connecting canal system. S Pearson and Sons was successful, and contracted to complete the dam by July 1925.<ref name=Winchester/> Oswald Longstaff Prowde was resident engineer and John Watson Gibson was site agent.<ref name="Engineer">{{cite news |date=26 September 1924 |title=The Sennar Dam and the Gezira Irrigation Scheme |url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/a/a2/Er19240926.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104190643/http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/a/a2/Er19240926.pdf |archive-date=4 January 2015 |access-date=4 January 2015 |newspaper=The Engineer |pages=349–350}}</ref> Work began in December 1922 and the dam was finished in May 1925.<ref name=Engineer/>

The Sennar dam is one of the highlights of the state of Sennar as it was the first dam built in the country. The lake capacity is about 390 million cubic meters of water, mainly used in irrigating agricultural projects such as Blue Nile Agricultural Foundation,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-10-15|title=والي سنار يعد بإعادة مؤسسة النيل الأزرق الزراعية لسابق عهدها|url=https://moojz.net/2020/10/15/الاقتصاد/والي-سنار-يعد-بإعادة-مؤسسة-النيل-الأزر/|access-date=2021-02-21|website=موجز نت|language=ar}}{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> Al Sookie agriculture project,<ref>{{Cite web|title=مشروع السوكي|url=https://www.senassudan.com/index.php/%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%86%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B2%D8%B1%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%A9/240-%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%83%D9%8A|access-date=2021-02-21|website=www.senassudan.com}}</ref> Al Managel agriculture project,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-11-07|title=مشروع هضبة المناقل بالسودان .."حلم طال انتظاره" وخبــراء :يملك مقومـات النجـاح وفرص لـ" حصاد المياه" وتنمية الثروة الحيوانية|url=https://alzira3a.com/مشروع-هضبة-المناقل-بالسودان-حلم-طال-ا/|access-date=2021-02-21|website=بوابة الزراعة|language=ar}}</ref> Aljazeera agriculture project,<ref>{{Cite web|title=مشروع الجزيرة السوداني كيف كان وكيف أصبح؟|url=https://www.aljazeera.net/programs/economyandpeople/2016/12/17/مشروع-الجزيرة-السوداني-كيف-كان-وكيف|access-date=2021-02-21|website=www.aljazeera.net|language=ar}}</ref> west of Sennar sugar project, and the Al-Rahad agriculture project.<ref>{{Cite web|title=مشروع الرهد الزراعي|url=http://arc.sudanagri.com/posts/506282|access-date=2021-02-21|website=arc.sudanagri.com}}</ref> Additionally, the dam enables storage for hydraulic power generation, which is estimated to have a production of about 14 MW covering more than 80% of Sennar state's consumption and covers the slight deficit of the national grid.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{cite encyclopedia |url= http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9001231/Sannar-Dam |title=Sannār Dam |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}

Category:Gezira State Category:Blue Nile Category:Dams completed in 1925 Category:Dams in Sudan Category:Dams in the Nile basin Category:Sennar State