why did turkey build a dam on the euphrates river
Since President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's reign, Turkey has dreamed of harnessing these great rivers for the purposes of power generation and irrigation. Turkey is situated at the crossroads of the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East, and eastern…. Turkey has started filling a huge hydroelectric dam on the Tigris river, a lawmaker and activists said, despite protests that it will displace thousands of people and risks creating water shortages downstream in Iraq. Turkey, country that occupies a unique geographic position, lying partly in Asia and partly in Europe. [12], During the periods of low demand for electricity, only one of the eight units of the HEPP is in operation while in times of high demand, all the eight units are in operation. answer choices The dam has caused flooding in other countries. Turkey has been withholding water from the Euphrates River for a month. [3], The rock-fill dam undergoes deformations that are regularly and systematically monitored since 1990 with different types of sensors. The subject of salvaging cultural heritages gained importance, particularly after the inundation of Samsat.[24]. Both countries allege that Turkey is intentionally withholding supplies from its downstream neighbors, turning water into a weapon. Criticism of the Turkish government has been voiced by civil society activists in Northern Syria concerning Turkey's control of the River Euphrates. Incredibly today, the Euphrates River is literally now able to be completely "dried up" as predicted for the End Times. However, the waters released from the HEPPs of those dams also need to be regulated. Why did the construction of the a dam on the Euphrates River in Turkey cause conflict in Southwest Asia (Middle East)? Case Study 10-03: Landscape and Cultural Heritage - Border Euphrates Project, Turkey", "An Institutional Framework for Facilitating Cooperation in the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin", "Water May Be Next Flashpoint In Mideast", "Turkish Water Project: Curse or Blessing? The Ataturk Dam is the largest in a series of 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric stations built on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the 1980s and ’90s in order to provide irrigation water and hydroelectricity to arid southeastern Turkey. Mr. Argun’s garden, along with thousands of years of history, will be submerged when Turkey completes a hydroelectric dam on the Tigris River, a project that dates back to the 1950s. The reservoir at the Tishrin Dam is relatively small, he said. The Second Largest Arab Dam The body of the dam was built of cement and steel and was designed to withstand earthquakes. Further downstream, ecological and social impacts of dam … [14] The tunnels are the largest in the world, in terms of length and flow rate, built for irrigation purposes. He has published several articles, books and book chapters on Turkey and the Kurdish issue. The dam, which is located 30 miles (50 km) upriver from the town of Ar-Raqqah, was begun in 1968. While the government touts the project as a source of carbon-free electricity, it will displace 80,000 people and threaten a host of species. Hence, depending upon the energy demand and the state of the interconnected system, the amount of water to be released from the HEPP might vary between 200 and 2,000 m3/s in one day.[12]. Envisaged in the 1970s, the GAP master plan aims to develop nine administrative provinces of the Southeastern A… The Tabqa Dam in Syria was completed in 1973 while Turkey finished the Keban Dam, a prelude to the immense Southeastern Anatolia Project, in 1974. Euphrates (yo ofrā`tēz), Turkish Frat, Arabic Al Furat, river of SW Asia, c.1,700 mi (2,740 km) long, formed by the confluence of the Kara and the Murad rivers, E central Turkey, and flowing generally S through Turkey into Syria, then SE through Iraq, joining with the Tigris River in SE Iraq to form the Shatt al Arab Shatt al Arab answer choices The dam has caused flooding in other countries. The politician explained that Ankara has been doing it occasionally, then abruptly releasing it. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). . [1], The permeation grouting work[8] was carried out by subcontractor Solétanche Bachy and the rehabilitation work for the post-tensioning of the dam crest with ground anchors by Vorspann System Losinger International (VSL). SANLIURFA, Turkey (AP) _ President Turgut Ozal cut the flow of the Euphrates River with the push of a button Saturday, diverting its waters to a reservoir and raising fears of tension with Turkey's arid downstream neighbors. Corrections? In 1980, Turkey and Iraq further specified the nature of the earlier protocol by forming a joint committee on technical issues, which Syria joined later in 1982 as well. ", Faculty of Arts and Sciences Building in İstanbul University, ODTÜ (Middle East Technical University campus), Antalya International Airport (International services terminal), İstanbul Atatürk International Airport (International services terminal), BTC (Baku-Tiflis-Ceyhan) pipeline and Yumurtalık terminal, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atatürk_Dam&oldid=996872551, Articles with dead external links from June 2016, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Turkish-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 29 December 2020, at 00:45. The reservoir water level touched 535 m (1,755 ft) amsl in 1994. Water levels in Lake By helping Assad's forces bridge the river, Moscow is increasing the risk of direct confrontation while obstructing U.S. efforts to defeat IS, … The young people in the region developed an interest in water sports and started to take part in international contests in the branches of sailing, rowing-canoeing, swimming and diving on the Lake Atatürk Dam. The HEPP can generate 8,900 GWh of electricity annually. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Ring in the new year with a Britannica Membership, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ataturk-Dam. Learn more about the Euphrates River in this article. The reservoir behind the dam will irrigate another 406,000 ha by pumping for a total of 882,000 ha. From the very first military clashes in Syria, Turkey started violating this agreement. It is 1,740 miles (2,800 km) long and is one of the two main constituents of the Tigris-Euphrates river system. [7] The power plant's first two power units came on line in 1992[10] and it became fully operational in December 1993. [27], Landsat4 image of pre-Atatürk Dam, Harran (August 20, 1983), Landsat7 image of the Atatürk Dam (March 27, 2000), Landsat7 image of post-Atatürk Dam, Harran (August 24, 2002), Power stations projected or under construction in, Resettlement and salvaging cultural heritage, Announcement on the Withdrawal of E8 New Turkish Lira Banknotes from Circulation, "Hydroelectric Power Plants in Southern Turkey", "Structurae International Database and Gallery of Structures", "Southeastern Anatolia Becomes a Major Cotton Producing Region for Turkey", "Fishes Caught in Bozova Region of Atatürk Dam Lake and Their Production", "IEA Hydropower Implementing Agreement Annex VIII - Hydropower Good Practices: Environmental Mitigation Measures and Benefits. Case Study 12-03: Benefits due to Dam Function - Atatürk Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant, Turkey", "Raising the Income Level of People in Areas out of the Coverage Irrigation in the GAP Region", "Atatürk Dam Becomes the Stage for the 5th Water Sports Festival", "Water Security In The Middle East Growing Conflict Over Development In The Euphrates - Tigris Basin", "IEA Hydropower Implementing Agreement Annex VIII - Hydropower Good Practices: Environmental Mitigation Measures and Benefits. Water levels on the Euphrates River that flows 2,700 kilometers (1,700 miles) from eastern Turkey through Syria and Iraq past ancient Mesopotamian lands have … The most important change in the project was abandoning the Middle Karababa Dam design, and adopting the design of the Atatürk Dam to increase the storage and power generation capacities of the dam. The Ilisu Dam is one of the biggest of the project’s 22 dams and 19 power plants. “Riparian” simply means that they are situated on the [22] According to other sources, the construction of the dam resulted in involuntary resettlement of between 45,000 to 53,500 people.[23]. This pattern started in the 1970s when Turkey and Syria built dams on the Euphrates for hydroelectric power and vast irrigation works. Turkey has been withholding water from the Euphrates River for a month. For transportation purposes, several ferries have been operated in the reservoir. [14], Mid-January 1990, when the first phase of the dam was completed, Turkey held back the flow of the Euphrates entirely for a month to begin filling up the reservoir. Turkey controls only 44 percent of the river's flow, which, while still a sizable share, means that water management along the Tigris River is more complicated than on the Euphrates. “The river was everything for us,” said Muhammad Bozan, 35, a … Updates? The politician explained that Ankara has been doing it occasionally, then abruptly releasing it. [3], The dam was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish one-million-lira banknotes of 1995–2005[4] and of the 1 new lira banknote of 2005–2009. Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four river heads. The impact of the irrigation on the economy of the region is significant. A new town with the same name, Samsat, was founded for the 2,000 people dislocated. [9], The HEPP of the Atatürk Dam is the biggest of a series of 19 power plants of the GAP project. From there the water is gravity-fed to vast irrigation networks in the Harran Plain and elsewhere in the vicinity. The birthplace of the Ancient Greek poet Lucian was lost when the dam was created. The protocol provided the control and management of the Euphrates and the Tigris depending to a large extent on the regulations of flow in Turkish source areas. Since 1990, when the Euphrates was closed for 90 days to fill the reservoir of the Ataturk Dam, Iraq has been raising the alarm over Turkey’s plans, which it … Turkey says its decades-long project to build 22 dams — the ambitious target date for completion is the end of next year— along the Tigris and the Euphrates will produce energy and jobs. Middle East Policy is fully accessible through the Wiley Online Library Click below to subscribe to the online or print edition of Middle East Policy and gain access to all journal content. Ataturk Dam, dam on the Euphrates River in southeastern Turkey, the centrepiece of the Southeastern Anatolia Project. Construction of the $1.25bn dam and the hydroelectricity power project was completed in 1990. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. One of the most important legal texts on the waters of the Euphrates-Tigris river system is the protocol annexed to the 1946 Treaty of Friendship and Good Neighborly Relations between Iraq and Turkey. As the objectives for regional development have changed significantly and the ambitions have grown in the 1970s, the original plan underwent major modifications. Citing satellite images, they said that water was starting to build up behind the Ilisu dam, a project that has been decades in the making and which aims to … By cutting off the flow and directing it into the reservoir, Turkey has lowered water levels downstream. Disputes have prevented the three governments from effectively co-managing the … Irrigation started in the Harran Plain in the spring of 1995. [1] The Atatürk Dam, listed in international construction publications as the world's largest construction site, was completed in a world record time of around 50 months. Euphrates river, Iraq demands 23 billion m3 of water from the river. [18] 8 of the 12 fish species being caught are economically valuable. It rises in Turkey and flows southeast across Syria and through Iraq. Since then, it varies between 526 and 537 m amsl. Most of the other hydropower projects have already been built on Turkish rivers, including up and down the storied Euphrates River, which flows roughly parallel to the Tigris before joining it north of Basra, Iraq to form the Shatt Al-Arab River. [13], The reservoir Lake Atatürk Dam, extending over an area of 817 km2 (315 sq mi) with a water volume of 48.7 km3 (63,400 million cu yd), ranks third in size in Turkey after Lake Van and Lake Tuz. Why did the construction of the Atatürk Dam on the Euphrates River in Turkey cause conflict in Southwest Asia? The lake provides a fisheries and recreation site. In ninety percent of the irrigated area, cotton is planted. The early Neolithic settlement of Nevalı Çori, site of some of the world's most ancient known temples and monumental sculpture, was discovered during rescue excavations before the dam was completed.
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