Dye Test within Mosul Dam Area

Mohammed Sami Safi,Nadhir Al-Ansari

doi:10.4236/eng.2021.136020

Abstract

Mosul Dam is located on the River Tigris about 60 km north of Mosul city in Iraq. The dam is a multipurpose earth fill dam with a storage capacity of 11.11 million cubic meters, which was in operation since 1986. During the first impounding of its reservoir, seepage of water underneath the foundation of dam was noticed due to the desolation of gypsum beds. This raised concern about the stability of the dam and since then grouting operation were carried out. ISIS occupied the dam 8 - 16 August 2014. Grouting operations stopped and number of equipment and buildings were destroyed during that short period. After the defeat of ISIS, the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources rebuilt and constructed the destroyed parts within the site and a new maintenance operations program was adopted. New training courses for the staff of Mosul Dam were conducted with Trevi Company and US Army Corps of Engineers. In this paper, the dye test is highlighted to monitor the seepage of groundwater within the dam site. It seems that the dam is stable in its present conditions and water level height.

Highlights

Mosul Dam is located on the River Tigris about 60 km north of Mosul city in Iraq
New training courses for the staff of Mosul Dam were conducted with Trevi Company and US Army Corps of Engineers
Mosul Dam is the biggest dam in Iraq and it is located on the River Tigris about 60 km northwest Mosul City (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Mosul Dam is the biggest dam in Iraq and it is located on the River Tigris about 60 km northwest Mosul City (Figure 1). This dam is a multipurpose dam for flood prevention, electricity generation and irrigation purposes. Its storage capacity is 11.11 BCM at normal operation level 330 meters above sea level (m.s.l.) (Figure 2) [1]-[11]. The construction of the dam took 5 years where it started on 25 January 1981 and it started operating on 7 July 1986. The rocks at the dam site are mainly composed of alternating beds of limestone, gypsum and marls of the Euphrates and Fatha Formations ([12]-[23]).

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion