The Goronyo Dam impounds the Rima River

Rima River

The Rima River is a river in the northern part of Nigeria. At its northern most point it is joined by the Goulbi de Maradi river. It runs southwest and joins the Sokoto River near Sokoto, then continues south to the Niger River. The upper Rima is a seasonal river and flows only during the rainy...

 in Goronyo

Goronyo

Goronyo is a Local Government Area in Sokoto State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Goronyo, on the Sokoto River. It has an area of 1,704 km² and a population of 182,296 at the 2006 census.The postal code of the area is 842....

 local government area of Sokoto State

Sokoto State

Sokoto State is located in the extreme northwest of Nigeria, near to the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2005 it has an estimated population of more than 4.2 million...

 in the north of Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

. It was completed in 1984 and commissioned in 1992. The dam is a sand-fill structure with a height of 21 m and a total length of 12.5 km.
It has a storage capacity of 976 million cubic meters.
The dam will be important in controlling floods and releasing water in the dry season for the planned Zauro polder project

Zauro polder project

The Zauro polder project is an irrigation scheme that has long been planned for the Rima River floodplain in Kebbi State, Nigeria. The project is controversial, and would demand careful management to achieve the planned benefits.-Location:...

 downstream in Kebbi State

Kebbi State

Kebbi State is a state in north-western Nigeria with its capital at Birnin Kebbi. The state was formed from part of Sokoto State in 1991. Kebbi State is bordered by Sokoto State, Niger State, Dosso Region in the Republic of Niger and the nation of Benin. It has a total area of...

.

In August 2009 Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko

Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko

Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko was elected governor of Sokoto State, Nigeria in April 2007, representing the People's Democratic Party .-Background:...

 urged the Federal Government to hasten completion of the irrigation project.
The Minority Leader of the Sokoto State House of Assembly, Alhaji Bello Goronyo, said that N4 billion was needed to complete canalisation, but only about N600 million was provided in the 2009 budget.

In late August 2010 rainstorms caused the dam to fill to dangerous levels. In an attempt to reduce the risk of failure, the gates were opened on 1 September 2010, causing major flooding in the downstream village of Kagara

Kagara, Sokoto

Kagara is a community in Sokoto State, Nigeria, near Goronyo town.Kagara lies on the southern edge of the Sahel, an arid belt of land to the south of the Sahara desert.The village is downstream from the Goronyo Dam on the Rima River....

. On 8 September the spillway from the dam completely failed, causing much more widespread flooding.
The storm that caused the flooding may be part of a climate change pattern, with rising temperatures and more intense rainfall in the rainy season.