TITLE:
Mosul Dam: A Catastrophe Yet to Unfold
AUTHORS:
Nasrat Adamo, Nadhir Al-Ansari, Sven Knutsson, Jan Laue, Varoujan Sissakian
KEYWORDS:
Iraq, Tigris River, Mosul Dam, Grouting, Karstification
JOURNAL NAME:
Engineering,
Vol.9 No.3,
March
31,
2017
ABSTRACT: Mosul Dam is multipurpose earth fill dam. It is 3.4km long, 113m in height and its storage capacity reaches 11.11 km3 of which 2.95 km3 is dead storage. The dam is located on the River Tigris in the northern part of Iraq about 60 km in north west Mosul city. The dam was built on highly karstified alternating beds of gypsum, marl and limestone. The dam was operating in 1986 and since then, seepage problems started due to the solubility of the gypsum beds, presence of karstification and the effect of the local groundwater aquifer. Insensitive grouting program was put to stop the seepage and ensure the stability of the dam but it did not stop. The situation became worse in 2014 when ISIS occupied the dam area and grouting operations which were halted. Recent evaluation of the conditions indicates that the dam is in its worst conditions. The failure models of the dam indicate that 6 million people will be affected, and 7202 km2 of land will be inundated. To stop this catastrophe, grouting operations should be continued intensively to elongate the span life of the dam. Water level within its reservoir should be kept at a very low level to minimize the damages in case of dam failure. As a permanent solution, another dam should be built downstream Mosul Dam so that it can take the wave of Mosul Dam in case of its failure.