Temporal Analysis of Sediment Load and Its Impact on Jebba Reservoir Using Remote Sensing

Jebba Reservoir in Niger State, formed by the Jebba Hydropower Dam, is critical to Nigeria's national electricity generation capacity and supports downstream irrigation and fisheries. Increasing sedimentation threatens reservoir storage capacity and hydropower generation efficiency. This study applies remote sensing to assess temporal changes in sediment load and its spatial impact on Jebba Reservoir from 2015 to 2023. Sentinel-2 imagery is used to derive surface water turbidity proxies using the Normalised Difference Turbidity Index and the Red to Near-Infrared reflectance ratio. In-situ total suspended sediment measurements from six monitoring stations collected during field campaigns validate the satellite-derived turbidity estimates. Temporal analysis of turbidity maps reveals a progressive increase in sediment load from the Oli River tributary, consistent with intensifying upstream agricultural expansion. Storage capacity loss is estimated by integrating turbidity observations with bathymetric survey data from the Kainji Electricity Generating Company. Keywords: reservoir sedimentation, remote sensing, Jebba Reservoir, turbidity, Niger State