Mosul Dam: Is it the Most Dangerous Dam in the World?

Mosul Dam is an earth fill dam, with a storage capacity of 11.11 km 3 constructed on highly karstified gypsum beds alternating with marl and limestone. After impounding in 1986, seepage locations were recognized. The dam situation now indicates that it is in a state of extreme relative risk. If it f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geotechnical and geological engineering 2020-10, Vol.38 (5), p.5179-5199
Main Authors: Al-Ansari, Nadhir, Adamo, Nasrat, Knutsson, Sven, Laue, Jan, Sissakian, Varoujan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Civil Engineering
Dam construction
Downstream
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth dams
Earth Sciences
Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences
Geoteknik
Grouting
Gypsum
Hydrogeology
Iraq
Limestone
Marl
Mosul Dam
Original Paper
Seepage
Soil Mechanics
Storage capacity
Storage conditions
Terrestrial Pollution
Tigris river
Waste Management/Waste Technology
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Summary:Mosul Dam is an earth fill dam, with a storage capacity of 11.11 km 3 constructed on highly karstified gypsum beds alternating with marl and limestone. After impounding in 1986, seepage locations were recognized. The dam situation now indicates that it is in a state of extreme relative risk. If it fails, then 6 million people will be affected and 7202 km 2 area will be flooded. Grouting operations will elongate the life of the dam but will not solve the problem. Building a protection dam downstream will be the best measures to secure the safety of the downstream area and its’ population.
ISSN:0960-3182
1573-1529
1573-1529
DOI:10.1007/s10706-020-01355-w