Lake Chivero

Lake Chivero is a reservoir on the Manyame River in Zimbabwe. It was formerly called Lake McIlwaine in memory of Sir Robert McIlwaine, a former judge of the High Court and founder of Southern Rhodesia's (later Rhodesia's, now Zimbabwe's) soil and water conservation movement.

Lake Chivero
viewed from the north bank
Lake Chivero Show map of Zimbabwe Lake Chivero Show map of Africa
Coordinates	17°54′01″S 30°47′28″E
Type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Manyame River, Marimba River, Mukuvisi River
Primary outflows	Manyame River
Basin countries	Zimbabwe
Max. width	8 km (5.0 mi)
Surface area	2,632 ha (6,500 acres)
Max. depth	27 m (89 ft)
Water volume	250×10^6 m3 (200,000 acre⋅ft)
Shore length1	48 km (30 mi)
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Lake Chivero and Manyame
Designated	3 May 2013
Reference no.	2105[1]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Located southwest of Harare, it provides the main water supply for the city. The lake was constructed over two-and-a-half years and opened to the public in 1952. The dam wall is 400 metres long.

The water is also used for irrigation purposes and commercial fishing. Some of the fishes that are found in the lake include common grass carp, tigerfish, black bream, Clarias gariepinus, yellowfish, and green-headed bream.

The lake and hinterland are protected as part of Lake Chivero Recreational Park. The lake was designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance on 3 January 2013.[2]