Mosul Dam

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Mosul Dam
Mosul Dam provides water to Ninawa Governorate
Impounds	Tigris River
Locale	45 mi north of Mosul, Ninawa Governorate, Iraq
Maintained by	Ministry of Water Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Height	135 m
Opening date	1986
Geographical Data
Map (in French) with Mosul Dam in the north under its former name of "Saddam"
Coordinates	36°37′49″N 42°49′23″E / 36.63028, 42.82306
Power Generation: 750 MW + 200 MW + 60 MW

Mosul Dam (Arabic,سد الموصل), formerly known as Saddam Dam (Arabic,سد صدام), is the largest dam in Iraq. It is located on the Tigris River in the western governorate of Ninawa, upstream of the city of Mosul. The hydroelectric dam holds, at capacity, about 12 billion cubic meters of water and provides electricity to the 1.7 million residents of Mosul. The dam has four 200 MW turbines (but is believed to be producing around 320 MW). A Pumped Storage cavern power plant with a capacity of 200 MW and a river regulating dam with a hydro power plant of 60 MW capacity belong to the Mosul Dam scheme. It is ranked as the fourth largest dam in the Middle East, measured by reserve capacity, capturing snowmelt from Turkey, some 70 miles (113 km) north.^[1]

Contents 1 Concerns about potential collapse 2 Demolition concerns during the 2003 invasion 3 See also 4 Notes and references

[edit] Concerns about potential collapse

The earthen embankment dam is located on top of gypsum, a soft mineral which dissolves in contact with water. Continuous maintenance is required to plug, or "grout" new leaks with a liquefied slurry of cement and other additives.^[2] More than 50,000 tons of material have been injected into the dam since leaks began forming shortly after the dam was completed in 1986, and 24 machines currently continuously pump grout into the dam base. A September 2006 report by the United States Army Corps of Engineers noted, "In terms of internal erosion potential of the foundation, Mosul Dam is the most dangerous dam in the world." The report further outlined a worst case scenario, in which a sudden collapse of the dam would flood Mosul under 65 feet (20 m) of water and Baghdad, a city of 7 million, to 15 feet (5 m), with an estimated death toll of 500,000. ^[3] A report on 30 October 2007 by the US Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) said that the dam's foundations could give away at any moment.^[4]

In 2004, dam manager Abdulkhalik Thanoon Ayoub ordered the dam's water level, which can reach 330 feet (101 m) above sea level, to have a maximum of 319 feet (97 m), thus reducing the pressure on the structure. Nevertheless, Iraqi officials maintain that the U.S. government is overstating the risk. The Army Corps of Engineers has proposed that a dam under construction downstream at Badush be expanded to obstruct the large wave which would result if the Mosul Dam collapsed. This has been resisted by Iraqi officials, who note that the current plan for the Badush dam is US$300 million to provide hydroelectric power and help irrigation while the proposed expansion would cost $10 billion.^[3]

[edit] Demolition concerns during the 2003 invasion

In early April 2003, following the invasion of Iraq by a U.S.-led coalition, military intelligence indicated that Iraqi forces had wired the dam for detonation. This would, like a dam collapse, release the 110 m high waterline of the lake reservoir, to reach Mosul in about two hours. Subsequent investigation found the reports to be unfounded but found the nearly 500 dam workers to still be at work nearly a month after pay had stopped being distributed, with security being provided by militia under the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.^[1]

[edit] See also

• Haditha Dam, second largest dam in Iraq

[edit] Notes and references