Author(s)

Omer Kawende Kalonda¹, Ivon Ndala Tshiwis^1,2, Boniface Mumbimb Atalatala¹, Clement N’Zau Umba-Di-Mbudi^1,2,3

¹Geo-Hydro-Energy Research Group, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
²Department of Geosciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
³Polytechnic Faculty, President Joseph Kasa-Vubu State University, Boma, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The headrace of the Inga hydropower complex is experiencing siltation problems, reducing the exploitable draft and limiting the production capacity of the two main Inga hydropower plants during the low water period. During the 2019 low water period, several sediment slumps occurred in the Shongo basin, disrupting the production of hydroelectric power generated by the Inga 1 & 2 power plant, resulting in massive load shedding of power supply to downstream customers. The cardinal aim of this study is to determine the quantities of sediments deposited and those eroded, in order to know the evolution of sedimentation in the Shongo basin from February 2020 to May 2021. The results obtained show that the running index of the turbines alternators groups is determinant and influences the sedimentation process in the Shongo basin. The cleaning of the Shongo basin in terms of the spatial distribution of sedimentation from February 2020 to May 2021 is plausible.

Quantities, Erode, Deposede, Load Shedding and Index

Kalonda, O. , Tshiwis, I. , Atalatala, B. and Umba-Di-Mbudi, C. (2023) Evolution of Sedimentation in a Headrace Canal for Hydroelectric Production Case of the Shongo Basin of the Inga Complex from February 2020 to May 2021 (Kongo Central Province/DR Congo). Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 11, 404-426. doi: 10.4236/gep.2023.115024.