The Baath Dam ( ar, سد البعث, lit=Dam of the Renaissance, ku, Bendava Baas, syc, ܣܟܪܐ ܕܒܥܬ, Sekro d'Ba'ath) is a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

on the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

, located upstream from the city of

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish languages, Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. T ...

Raqqa Governorate Raqqa Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة الرقة, Muḥāfaẓat ar-Raqqah) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is situated in the north of the country and covers an area of 19,618 km2. The capital is Raqqa. The Islamic State of ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. Construction of the dam started in 1983 and was finished in 1986. It is intended to generate

hydroelectric power 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 ...

as well as regulate the irregular flow from the

Tabqa Dam The Tabqa Dam ( ar, سَدُّ الطَّبْقَةِ, Sadd aṭ-Ṭabqah, ku, Bendava Tebqa; syc, ܣܟܪܐ ܕܛܒܩܗ, Sekro d'Tabqa), or al-Thawra Dam as it is also named ( ar, سَدُّ الثَّوْرَةِ, Sadd aṯ-Ṯawrah, ku, Bendav ...

, which is located upstream from the Baath Dam. These irregularities in the flow from the Tabqa Dam are caused by changes in the electricity demand. The Baath Dam is high and the installed

water turbine A water turbine is a rotary machine that converts kinetic energy and potential energy of water into mechanical work. Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now, t ...

s can generate 81 MW. The storage capacity of the Baath Dam Reservoir is . The Baath Dam is one of three dams on the Syrian Euphrates, the other two being the Tabqa Dam, and the

Tishrin Dam The Tishrin Dam ( ar, سد تشرين, Sadd Tišrīn, lit=October Dam, ku, بەنداڤا تشرین, Bendava Tişrîn, syc, ܣܟܪܐ ܕܬܫܪܝܢ, Sekro d'Teshrin) is a dam on the Euphrates, located east of Aleppo in Aleppo Governorate, Syri ...

south of the Syria- Turkish border. Like the Baath Dam, the Tishrin Dam is also functionally related to the Tabqa Dam. Construction of the Tishrin Dam was partly motivated by the disappointing performance of the hydroelectric power station in the Tabqa Dam. Before the Syrian Civil War, Syria had plans to construct a fourth dam – the

Halabiye Dam The Halabiye Dam (or Zalabiye Dam) is a proposed dam on the Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria. It will be the fourth and most southern dam on the Syrian Euphrates, after the Tishrin Dam, the Tabqa Dam and the Baath Dam. Project The ...

– on the Euphrates, downstream from the Baath Dam. The dam is named after the Syrian Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.

Syrian Civil War

On 4 February 2013, opposition forces captured the dam, a week before capturing the

. The Baath Dam was captured from the

ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

by the

Syrian Democratic Forces , war = the Syrian Civil War , image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder , caption = Flag , active = 10 October 2015 – present , ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...

on 4 June 2017. Upon doing so, they renamed it the "Freedom Dam" (

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

: ''Bendava Azadî''; ar, سد الحرية; syc, ܣܟܪܐ ܕܚܐܪܘܬܐ, Sekro d'Ḥirutho). In 2019, control of the dam was given to the Syrian government after the Turkish invasion of Northern Syria.

Notes

References

* * * * {{Euphrates dams Hydroelectric power stations in Syria Dams in Syria Dams on the Euphrates River Buildings and structures in Raqqa Governorate Dams completed in 1986 Crossings of the Euphrates