Şırnak Dam

Şırnak Dam
Şırnak Dam
	Location of Şırnak Dam in Turkey
Country	Turkey
Location	Şırnak, Şırnak Province
Coordinates	37°26′28.69″N 42°44′01.44″E / 37.4413028°N 42.7337333°E
Purpose	Water supply, military
Status	Operational
Construction began	2008
Opening date	2012
Construction cost	US$31,680,000 (TL₺49,500,000)
Owner(s)	State Hydraulic Works
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Gravity, roller-compacted concrete
Impounds	Ortasu River
Height	56.8 m (186 ft)
Height (foundation)	66.8 m (219 ft)
Length	198 m (650 ft)
Elevation at crest	811.80 m (2,663 ft)
Width (crest)	8 m (26 ft)
Dam volume	157,000 m3 (205,348 cu yd)
Spillway type	Uncontrolled overflow
Spillway capacity	919 m3/s (32,454 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Catchment area	398.3 km2 (154 sq mi)
Power Station
Turbines	2 x 2.5 MW (planned)
Installed capacity	5 MW (planned)

The Şırnak Dam is a gravity dam on the Ortasu River (a tributary of the Hezil River) about 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Şırnak town in Şırnak Province, southeast Turkey. Under contract from Turkey's State Hydraulic Works, AGE Inşaat began construction on the dam in 2008 and it was completed in 2012.^[3]

The reported purpose of the dam is water storage and it can also support a 5 MW hydroelectric power station in the future.^[4] Another purpose of the dam which has been widely reported in the Turkish press is to reduce the freedom of movement of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants. Blocking and flooding valleys near the Iraq–Turkey border is expected to help curb cross-border PKK smuggling and deny caves in which ammunition can be stored. A total of 11 dams along the border; seven in Şırnak Province and four in Hakkâri Province were implemented for this purpose. In Şırnak they are the Silopi Dam downstream of the Şırnak Dam on the Hezil River and upstream is the Uludere, Balli, Kavşaktepe, Musatepe and Çetintepe Dams on the Ortasu River. In Hakkari are the Gölgeliyamaç (since cancelled) and Çocuktepe Dams on the Güzeldere River and the Aslandağ and Beyyurdu Dams on the Bembo River.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

References

^ "Sirnak Dam construction tender". DGMarkets. 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
^ "Şırnak Dam Final Design Project". ESER. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
^ "ŞIRNAK DAM CONSTRUCTION, ŞIRNAK" (in Turkish). AGE Construction. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
^ "DSI 10 REGIONAL OFFICE - Diyarbakir" (in Turkish). State Hydraulic Works. Archived from the original on 21 November 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
^ "Terror Down" (in Turkish). Posta. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
^ "Planned to be completed in the second dam on the border against the PKK" (in Turkish). Hurriyet. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
^ "Dams Prevent Smuggling at the Border" (in Turkish). Aktif Haber. 5 May 2013. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
^ "Water retention dams began operation against PKK" (in Turkish). CNNTurk. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2013.