| May Leiba | |
|---|---|
 | |
  May Leiba | |
| Coordinates | 13°41′39″N39°14′01″E / 13.694046°N 39.233739°E /13.694046; 39.233739 |
| Type | Freshwater artificial lake |
| Primary inflows | May Leiba River |
| Basin countries | Ethiopia |
| Surface area | 0.16 km2 (0.062 sq mi) |
| Water volume | 0.958×10 |
| Surface elevation | 2,290 m (7,510 ft) |
| Settlements | Addi Qoylo |
May Leiba is areservoir located in theDogu’a Tembienworeda of theTigray Region inEthiopia. It is named after theMay Leiba River. Theearthen dam that holds the reservoir was built in 1998 by theRelief Society of Tigray.[1]
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In 2002, the life expectancy of the reservoir (the duration before it is filled with sediment) was estimated at 15 years.[1]
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A first problem is administrative: the dam is located in one ‘’tabia’’ and the command area in another ‘’tabia’’, leading to disagreements with regard to the sharing of the water. The larger part of the water that could be used for formal irrigation is lost throughseepage across the limestone;[2] the positive side-effect is that this contributes togroundwater recharge,[3] particularly around the downstream settlement of Addi Idaga, where a large irrigation perimeter has been developed.
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Thecatchment of May Leiba reservoir is 17.87 km² large, with a perimeter of 17.61 km and a length of 4540 metres.[1]
The lithology of the catchment of the reservoir isAntalo Limestone, Agula Shale, sandstone of theAmba Aradam Formation andAshangi Basalts.[1] The main driving factors that define the variability in soil types in this catchment are: 1) geology, through soil parent material and the occurrence of harder layers, often acting asaquitards oraquicludes; 2) occurrence ofmass movement deposits that occupy large areas of the catchment; and 3)anthropogenicsoil erosion and deposition. These factors lead to “red-black”SkeleticCambisol–PellicVertisolsoil catenas onbasalt andCalcaricRegosol–ColluvicCalcaricCambisol–CalcaricVertisol catenas onAntalo Limestone.[4]The reservoir suffers from rapidsiltation.[5] Attempts have been done to reuse the reservoir sediment for crop production. While this doubled thegarlic yield, it proved also to be a costly venture to transport the sediment from the dry lake bottom to nearby barren land in order to establish the plots.[6]