Bethesda Dam
| Bethesda Dam | |
|---|---|
Bethesda Dam | |
| Location | Antigua and Barbuda |
| Coordinates | 17°02′36.6″N 61°45′15.1″W / 17.043500°N 61.754194°W |
| Type | lake |
The Bethesda Dam is a reservoir in Saint Paul, Antigua and Barbuda near Bethesda.
Location
The lake is located directly west of the village of Bethesda, not far from Willoughby Bay. The lake is about 500 metres long. To the south rises the bushy foothills of the Monks Hill, and to the northwest are stretches of arable land.
Function and history
With a storage capacity of about 660,000 cubic metres, Bethesda is the second largest reservoir on the island and supplies the agricultural zone, which extends from Bethesda to the inland regions.[1][2][3]
The much larger Potworks Dam to north serves the municipal water supply (drinking water), making Bethesda the largest agricultural reservoir. The island of Antigua– unlike the other Caribbean islands– suffers from chronic drought, so the reservoirs are of great importance. The Bethesda reservoir contains almost 10% of the island's total storage capacity (about 7 million cubic metres), and almost half of the agricultural storage water (1.5 million cubic metres).[1][2][3]
The Bethesda Dam was constructed in the late 1970s. Today, about 30 hectares of cultivated area can be sprinkled with the water.[4] In times of emergency, the water is also fed into the water treatment plant Delaps Water Treatment Plant of the Potworks Dam.[5][6]
Conservation
The lake has also become interesting for nature conservation, meanwhile there are populations of the Cuban shrew and the Caribbean hoose, two endangered bird species. At the lake, therefore, in 2007, BirdLife International described an Important Bird Area (AG012 Bethesda Dam) with 1 ha, according to the criteria A1 (threatened species), A2 (local/endemic animal species), A4i (at least 1% of the population). A national underprotection position is still pending.[7][8]
References
- ^ a b https://web.archive.org/web/20141006085609/http://ab.gov.ag/pdf/120103%20Draft%20NPDP%202011.pdf
- ^ a b https://web.archive.org/web/20150605202759/http://www.unccd.int/ActionProgrammes/antigua_and_barbuda-eng2005.pdf
- ^ a b The Caribbean Conservation Association (Eds.): . A. The Government of Antigua and Barbuda – Historical, Conservation, and Environmental Commission. St. Michael (Barbados) 1991, Abschnitt Water supply/demand and treatment, Figure 2.2(5) Several of the larger agricultural and municipal reservoirs for the Island of Antigua. Table 2.2(3). Size and storage capacity of several of the larger agricultural and municipal reservoirs In Antigua. as well as section Watersheds, Table 2.2(2) Antigua watsrsheds with storage capacity estimates for existing and proposed agricultural and municipal water supplies (acre-feet)., S. 65 ff. resp. 61 (usaid.gov[PDF] there p. 85 ff. resp. 82; area in Table 2.2(3) is the catchment area (groundwater reservoir)).
- ^ Department of Regional Development and Environment, Executive Secretariat for Economic and Social Affairs, Organization of American States (Ed.): . 1992, ISBN 0-8270-3072-X, p. 42 (limited preview in Google book search).
- ^ UNCCD: . 2005, 2.1.4.3. Water production: Bethesda Catchment, Potworks Catchment, S. 34 (unccd.int [PDF]).
- ^ Antigua Public Utilities Authority: Antigua Drought 1983, Implications and Possible Solutions. Government of Antigua and Barbuda, Saint John's (Antigua) 1984.
- ^ http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/20876
- ^ http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/ibacritglob