The Balli Dam is a

gravity dam A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation to oppose the horizontal pressure of water pushing against it. ...

under construction on the Ortasu River (a tributary of the Hezil River) in Uludere district of

Şırnak Province Şırnak Province ( tr, Şırnak ili, ku, Parêzgeha Şirnexê) is a province of Turkey in the Southeastern Anatolia Region. Şırnak Province was created in 1990, with areas that were formerly part of the Siirt and Mardin Provinces. It borders ...

, southeast

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. Under contract from Turkey's

State Hydraulic Works The State Hydraulic Works ( tr, Devlet Su İşleri) is a state agency, under the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Turkey, responsible for the utilization of all the country's water resources. The institution's four major functions are ene ...

, construction on the dam began in 2008 and a completion date has not been announced. The reported purpose of the dam is water storage and it can also support an 8.36 MW

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

power station in the future. 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 The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of south ...

(PKK) militants. Blocking and flooding valleys in close proximity to 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 Hakkâri Province (, tr, Hakkâri ili, ku, Parêzgeha Colemêrgê), is a province in the southeast of Turkey. The administrative centre is the city of Hakkâri. The province covers an area of 7,121 km² and had a population of 286,470 in ...

were implemented for this purpose. In Şırnak they are the

Silopi Silopi ( ku, Silopî) is a city and district of Şırnak Province in Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region, close to the borders of Iraq and Syria. The majority of its people are of ethnic Kurds. The district, composed of Silopi center, three to ...

Şırnak Şırnak ( ku, شرنەخ, Şirnex) is a town in southeastern Turkey. It is the capital of Şırnak Province, a new province that split from the Mardin and Siirt provinces. The Habur border gate with Iraq which is one of Turkey's main links to Arab ...

and

Uludere Dam The Uludere Dam is a gravity dam under construction on the Ortasu River (a tributary of the Hezil River) in Uludere district of Şırnak Province, southeast Turkey. Under contract from Turkey's State Hydraulic Works, Hidrokon began construction ...

s downstream of the Balli Dam and the Kavşaktepe, Musatepe and

Çetintepe Dam The Çetintepe Dam is a gravity dam under construction on the Ortasu River (a tributary of the Hezil River) in Uludere district of Şırnak Province, southeast Turkey. Under contract from Turkey's State Hydraulic Works, Ozerka Insatt began cons ...

s upstream on the Ortasu River. In Hakkari are the Gölgeliyamaç (since cancelled) and

Çocuktepe Dam The Çocuktepe Dam is a gravity dam under construction on the Güzeldere River (a tributary of the Great Zab) in Çukurca district of Hakkâri Province, southeast Turkey. Under contract from Turkey's State Hydraulic Works, İnelsan İnşaat beg ...

s on the Güzeldere River and the Aslandağ and

Beyyurdu Dam The Beyyurdu Dam is a gravity dam on the Bembo River (an eventual tributary of the Great Zab) in Beyyurdu, Şemdinli district of Hakkâri Province, southeast Turkey. Construction Under contract from Turkey's State Hydraulic Works, Özdoğan Gr ...

s on the Bembo River. Balli dam was still under construction as of March 2019, with construction works 95% complete at that time.

References

{{Dams and reservoirs in Turkey Dams in Şırnak Province Gravity dams Dams in the Tigris River basin Roller-compacted concrete dams Dams under construction in Turkey

See also

References