List of reservoirs by volume

Introduction

The classification of a reservoir by volume is not as straight forward as it may seem. As the name implies, water is held in reserve by a reservoir so it can serve a purpose. For example in Thailand, reservoirs tend to store water from the wet season to prevent flooding and then release it during the dry season for farmers to grow rice. For this type of reservoir, almost the entire volume of the reservoir functions for the purpose it was built. Hydroelectric power generation, on the other hand, requires many dams to build up a large volume before operation can begin. For this type of reservoir only a small portion of the water held behind the dam is useful. Therefore, knowing the purpose a reservoir has been constructed, and knowing how much water can be used for that purpose helps determine how much water is in possible reserve.

Terminology

The following terms are used in connection with the volume of reservoirs:

Nominal Volume or Capacity is the total volume of all water held behind a dam at the maximum level possible.

Initial or Design Volume refers to the possible volume within the reservoir after it first opens. Many rivers are high in silt that over time deposits behind a dam reducing capacity.

Active or Live volume equals the total capacity minus the dead pool volume. This is the volume that can serve some downstream purpose. For example it is the volume available to make hydroelectric power or provide drinking water to a city.

Dead pool or Minimum volume refers to the amount of water left in a reservoir that cannot be used for the general purpose the reservoir was constructed. At this state, the reservoir is termed fully drawn down. For example if built to supply water in the dry season, it is the water left behind when no more water can be extracted. Frequently, the effective minimum volume is greater if the water is needed for a purpose behind a dam.

Available capacity may require knowing the reservoir's primary purpose. If it is designed to prevent flooding, it may be the volume of water that can be retained before reaching maximum or top water.

Actual or Current when coupled with another term reflects the fact the level behind the dam is not constant.

Expanded versus artificial lakes

The list below largely ignores many natural lakes that have been augmented with the addition of a relatively minor dam. For example, a small dam, two hydroelectric plants, and locks on the outlet of Lake Superior enable man to control the lake level. Certainly, the great majority of the lake is natural. However, the control of water that can be held in reserve means a portion of the vast lake functions as a reservoir.

Recognition of lakes like Lake Superior greatly changes the list below. For example the Francis H. Clergue Generating Station and Saint Marys Falls Hydropower Plant, which are both on the lake's outlet, operate with just 5.9 meters total head. This is short compared to other dams. However, when viewed against the 81,200 km2 area of the lake, even a small range in Lake Superior's means its active volume is greater than the largest nominal in the table below.

List

Rank	Name of dam	Reservoir	River	Country	Year	Nominal volume km³	Ref.
1	Kariba Dam	Lake Kariba	Zambezi River	Zambia and  Zimbabwe	1959	180.6	,[1] 160.3[2]
2	Bratsk Dam	Bratsk Reservoir	Angara River	Russia	1964	169	,[1] 169.3[2]
3	Akosombo Dam	Lake Volta	Volta River	Ghana	1965	150	,[1] 148[2]
4	Daniel-Johnson Dam	Manicouagan Reservoir	Manicouagan River	Canada	1968	141.851	,[1] 141.7[2]
5	Guri Dam	Lake Guri	Caroní River	Venezuela	1986	135	[1]
6	Aswan High Dam	Lake Nasser	Nile River	Egypt	1971	132	[3]
7	W. A. C. Bennett Dam	Williston Lake	Peace River	Canada	1967	74.3	[1]
8	Krasnoyarsk Dam	Krasnoyarsk Reservoir (ru)	Yenisei River	Russia	1967	73.3	[1][2]
9	Zeya Hydroelectric Station (ru)	Zeya Reservoir	Zeya River	Russia	1978	68.4	[1][2]
10	Robert-Bourassa generating station	Robert-Bourassa Reservoir	La Grande River	Canada	1981	61.715	[1]
11	La Grande-3 generating station	La Grande-3 Nord Reservoir	La Grande River	Canada	1981	60.02	[1]
12	Ust-Ilimsk Dam	Ust-Ilimsk Reservoir	Angara River	Russia	1977	59.3	[1][2]
13	Boguchany Dam	Boguchany Reservoir	Angara River	Russia	1989	58.2	[1]
14	Zhiguli Hydroelectric Station	Kuybyshev Reservoir	Volga River	Russia	1955	58	[1][2]
15	Cahora Bassa Dam	Cahora Bassa	Zambezi River	Mozambique	1974	55.8	[1]
16	Serra da Mesa Dam	Serra da Mesa Reservoir	Tocantins River	Brazil	1998	54.4	[4]
17	Brisay generating station	Caniapiscau Reservoir	Caniapiscau River	Canada	1981	53.8	[1]
18	Pati–Chapetón(proposal)		Paraná River	Argentina	?	53.7	[1]
19	Bukhtarma Hydroelectric Power Plant	Bukhtarma Reservoir (ru)	Irtysh River	Kazakhstan	1967	53	[1][2]
20	Dantsianhow			People's Republic of China	1962	51.6	[1]
21	Atatürk Dam	Lake Atatürk Dam	Euphrates	Turkey	1992	48.7	[1]
22	Irkutsk Dam	Irkutsk Reservoir	Angara River	Russia	1956	46	[1]
23	Tucuruí Dam		Tocantins River	Brazil	1984	45.536	[1]
24	Loma de la Lata Dam? (Cerros Colorados Complex)	Los Barreales Lake?	Neuquén River	Argentina	1973	43.5	[1]
25	Planicie Banderita hydroelectric power plant (Cerros Colorados Complex)	Mari Menuco Lake?	Neuquén River	Argentina	1979	43	[1]
26	Three Gorges Dam	Three Gorges Reservoir	Yangtze River	People's Republic of China	2009	39.3	[1]
27	Hoover Dam	Lake Mead	Colorado River	United States	1936	37.2968	[1]
28	Winar Grue?			Canada	1952	37	[1]
29	Roseires Dam	Roseires Reservoir	Blue Nile	Sudan	1966	36.3	[1]
30	Vilyuy Dam (ru)	Vilyuy Reservoir (ru)	Vilyuy River	Russia	1967	35.9	[1]
31	Glen Canyon Dam	Lake Powell	Colorado River	United States	1964	35.55019	[1]
32	Kenney Dam	Nechako Reservoir	Nechako–Kemano	Canada	1966	35	[1]
33	Sobradinho Dam	Sobradinho Reservoir	São Francisco River	Brazil	1979	34.1	[1]
34	Churchill Falls	Smallwood Reservoir	Churchill River	Canada	1971	32.64	[1]
35	Jenpeg Dam		Lake Winnipeg outlet	Canada	1975	31.79	[1]
36	Keban Dam	Keban Dam Lake	Euphrates	Turkey	1971	31.5	[1]
37	Volga Hydroelectric Station	Volgograd Reservoir	Volga River	Russia	1958	31.5	[1]
38	Sayano–Shushenskaya Dam	Sayano–Shushenskoye Reservoir (ru)	Yenisei River	Russia	1990	31.3	[1]
39	Garrison Dam	Lake Sakakawea	Missouri River	United States	1953	30.22031	[1]
40	Kossou Dam	Lake Kossou	Bandama River	Ivory Coast	1961	30	[1]
41	Iroquois Dam		St. Lawrence River	Canada	1958	29.95901	[1]
42	Oahe Dam	Lake Oahe	Missouri River	United States	1966	29.11018	[1]
43	Itaipu Dam	Lake Itaipu (pt)	Paraná River	Brazil and  Paraguay	1983	29	[1]
44	Sanmenxia Dam	Sanmenxia Reservoir	Yellow River	People's Republic of China	1962	16.2	[1][2]
45	Minghachevir Power Plant	Minghachevir Reservoir	Kura River	Azerbaijan	1953	15.73	[5][5]

See also

• List of reservoirs by surface area
• List of conventional hydroelectric power stations
• List of largest reservoirs in the United States

References

1. B. F. Chao, Y. H. Wu, Y. S. Li (2008). "Impact of Artificial Reservoir Water Impoundment on Global Sea Level". Science 320 (5): 212–214. doi:10.1126/science.1154580. PMID 18339903. Compiles a database of world dams using the International Commission on Large Dams database.
2. Avakyan AB and Ovchinnikova SP (1971). "Foreign experience and techniques". Hydrotechnical Construction 5 (8): 773–777. doi:10.1007/BF02403626.
3. http://www.water-technology.net/projects/aswan-high-dam-nile-sudan-egypt/
4. "Hydroelectric Power DA SERRA MESA (1.275MW)" (in Portuguese). Eletrobras Furnas. Retrieved 18 September 2010.