Karstification Effect on the Stability of Mosul Dam and Its Assessment, North Iraq

Varoujan K. Sissakian; Nadhir Al-Ansari; Sven Knutsson

doi:10.4236/eng.2014.62012

Home > Journals > Engineering > ENG

Engineering > Vol.6 No.2, February 2014

Karstification Effect on the Stability of Mosul Dam and Its Assessment, North Iraq ()

Varoujan K. Sissakian, Nadhir Al-Ansari, Sven Knutsson

Consultant Geologist, Erbil, Iraq.
Lulea University of Technology, Lulea, Sweden.

DOI: 10.4236/eng.2014.62012 PDF HTML XML 6,848 Downloads 9,656 Views Citations

Abstract

Mosul Dam is located on the Tigris river, 50 Km NW of Mosul; it is 113 m in height, 3.4 Km in length, 10 m wide in its crest and has a storage capacity of 11.1 billion cubic meters. It is an earth fill dam, constructed on bedrocks of Fat’ha Formation, which consists of gypsum beds alternated with marl and limestone, in cyclic nature. The thickness of gypsum beds attains 18 m; they are intensely karstified even in foundation rocks. Therefore, continuous grouting Programme was planned during construction, which was completed in June 1984, with planned operation age of 80 years. Due to insufficient grouting in the foundation, during last years of the last century, the Karstification was enlarged in size and quantity, causing serious problems to the stability of the dam. Since late eighties of the last century, the status of the dam and its probable collapse has caused a panic to the people of Mosul city and near surroundings. Therefore, many attempts were carried out for assessment of the dam; all of them concluded that the Karstification is the main problem and recommended continuous grouting, using modern techniques. In addition, the authorities started to build another “Badush Dam” south of Mosul Dam so that it can stop the first wave if Mosul Dam if collapsed. All geophysical and geological work executed on the dam site; it concluded that the existence of many weaknesses zones, faults and large karstified areas, in different parts of the dam site.

Keywords

Mosul Dam; Karstification; Sink Hole; Iraq

Share and Cite:

Sissakian, V. , Al-Ansari, N. and Knutsson, S. (2014) Karstification Effect on the Stability of Mosul Dam and Its Assessment, North Iraq. Engineering, 6, 84-92. doi: 10.4236/eng.2014.62012.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Ministry of Water Resources Iraq, “Water Resources,” Mosul Dam, 2012. http://www.mowr.gov.iq:81/arabi/
[2]	Imatran Voima Osakeyhtio, “Consulting Engineers, Finland. Hydrological and Reservoir Information,” Ministry of Agrarian Reform, Republic of Iraq, 1968.
[3]	Mark and Wheeler, “Mosul Dam Assessment Task Order No. 8,” Report on Site Visit, Mosul Dam Library, 3-7 September 2004.
[4]	Black and Veatch, “Mosul Dam Assessment,” Review of 1984 Dambreak and Floadwave Study for Mosul Dam, Mosul Dam Library, Iraq, 2004.
[5]	N. A. Al-Ansari, A. Barazanji, M. Al-Jabbari and A. Gayara, “Geological Investigation of Mosul Dam Site,” Cofidential Report, Ministry of Irrigation, 1984, 39 p.
[6]	J. M. Tawfiq and J. Domas, “Report on the Regional Geological Mapping of Ain Zala-Butmah-Dohuk Area,” GEOSURV, 1977.
[7]	V. K. Sissakian and F. A. Ibrahim, “Geological Hazards Map of Mosul Quadrangle, Scale 1:250000,” GEOSURV, 2004.
[8]	S. R. Hijab and M. A. Al-Jabbar, “Geophysical Investigation on Mosul Dam Area, Stage One. Emergency Microgravity Survey,” GEOSURV, 2006.
[9]	B. R. Hijab, A. S. O. Al-Qadir and A. S. Musa, “Geophysical Investigation on Mosul Dam, Second Stage. Detailed Geophysical Survey,” GEOSURV, 2007.
[10]	E. I. Issa, N. Al-Ansari and S. Knutsson, “Changes in Bed Morphology of Mosul Dam Reservoir,” Journal of Advanced Science and Engineering Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2013, pp. 86-95.
[11]	N. A. Al-Ansari, E. I. Issa and S. Knutsson, “Nature of the Distributed of the Bed Sediment within Mosul Dam Reservoir, Iraq,” 2nd Engineering Scientific Conference, Mosul University, Mosul, 19-20 November 2013.
[12]	E. I. Issa, N. A. Al-Ansari and S. Knutsson, “Assessment of Sedimentation Characteristics and Capacity Curve for Mosul Dam Reservoir, Iraq,” 2nd Engineering Scientific Conference, Mosul University, Mosul, 19-20 November 2013.
[13]	Washington Group International, “Inter-Office Correspondence,” Mosul Dam Library, 2005.
[14]	D. A. Bruce, “Synopsis for Review Meeting in Amman, Jordan, January 24-26, 2005,” Mosul Dam Library, 2005.
[15]	N. Al-Ansari, E. I. Issa, G. H. Shirwani and S. Knnutson, “Sedimentation in the Mosul Reservoir of the Northern Iraq,” Journal of Environmental Hydrology, Vol. 21, 2013. http://www.hydroweb.com
[16]	E. I. Issa, N. Al-Ansari and S. Knutsson, “Sedimnetation and New Operational Curves for Mosul Dam, Iraq,” Hydrogeological Science Journal, Vol. 58, No. 7, 2013, pp. 1456-1466. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.789138
[17]	V. K. Sissakian, D. H. Hagopian and Kh. A. Ma’ala, “Geological Map of Mosul Quadrangle, Scale 1: 250000,” GEOSURV, Baghdad, 1995.
[18]	V. K. Sissakian, “Geological Map of Iraq, Scale 1:1000000,” 3rd Edition, GEOSURV, Baghdad, 2000.
[19]	V. K. Sissakian and H. A. Al-Mousawi, “Karstification and Related Problems in Iraq,” Iraqi Bulletin of Geology and Mining, Vol. 3, No. 2, 2007, pp. 1-12.
[20]	V. K. Sissakian and M. F. Abdul Jabbar, “Site Selection Problems in Gypsum Bearing Areas,” Iraqi Bulletin of Geology and Mining, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2005, pp. 45-52.