I was browsing for news reports about tDam and came across this article written on the 1st Dec. After the initial panic and uproar reports on this issue are strangely absent. Anyway here it is:
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says Mosul dam should be shut down, calling it is the most dangerous dam in the world because of erosion problems.
They warn that the wall of the dam holding back the Tigris River could collapse at any time. Earlier this year, the top American commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, along with the U.S. Ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker said a flood would not only affect Mosul but devastate cities farther south, including Baghdad. But Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh does not agree with the reports and says Mosul Dam is in good condition and not in danger.
Abdulkhalik Thanoon Ayoub, is an engineer and manager of the dam. He says there is no cause for alarm. "This is the best place to build a dam, except for one factor, and that is the geology," he said. "My office is on the downstream side of the dam and I can say with confidence that I am not worried."
But he agrees that the three-kilometer structure has a major problem because it was built on top of gypsum, a mineral that dissolves in water. Over time water flowing over the gypsum is causing cracks and holes that are constantly being grouted with concrete material to prevent the dam from collapsing. Ayoub says this solution has worked since the dam was built more than 20 years ago. "We have no other choice," he said. "We have to perform this grouting continuously to reinforce the foundation, and at the same time, we have to find a permanent solution."
It is not clear why the dam was constructed in an unstable location since Iraqi engineers knew about the problem from the beginning. But it was built at a time when Saddam Hussein decided where many construction projects in Iraq would be located. Contributing to the problem is a recent report by a U.S. oversight agency that says a $27 million American reconstruction project to improve the dam and grouting has been mismanaged and not led to significant improvements. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is recommending building a second dam downstream as a backup. But Iraq's government is resisting the costly project and says it is not necessary. Ayoub says Iraq's Ministry of Water Resources is cautious, but open to suggestions, including those by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "Their report did not convince engineers with the Iraqi water resources ministry about their conclusion 100 percent, " said Ayoub. "We have invited specialized companies from Germany, Italy, and other countries [to help us], and we got encouraging news that there is a permanent solution."
Ayoub says one possibility is installing a vertical plane of cement that would stop the water from flowing across the gypsum and prevent it from deteriorating. "It is an easy solution because you can start directly from the foundation, which would eliminate the movement of water," he said. U.S. officials are urging Iraq to make the safety of the dam a national priority. They fear that if nothing is done soon, it will collapse and thousands of people will lose their lives.
_____________________________
"As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others" - Nelson Mandela
So now we have a slightly difference of opinion, perhaps it is not pressing to act on this immediately? Or perhaps it is and some are doing some dragging of feet.
Anytime there is a potential problem that could effect peoples lives it is time for action.
Someone needs to get off their fat bloody **** and take care of this in short order, talk and more talk and notta gets accomplished!
_____________________________
Faith, Hope and Love, the Greatest of these is LOVE!!!
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." George Orwell
This is what we all fear. By announcing the Dam's weakness in the press the authorities have made it a massive target for the sickos!
Armed group wants to blow up Mosul Dam Azzaman, December 15, 2007
Security officials say scores of armed men have entered the Province of Nineveh with orders to detonate Mosul Dam. Mosul is the capital of Nineveh Province and the dam is 60 kilometers to west of the city.
“Some 250 armed men have entered Nineveh Province with the aim of detonating the Mosul Dam,” one source said.
Another source said information was based on intelligence tips passed to provincial authorities recently.
“The men were trained in Pakistan,” the source added.
Last month, the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) warned that the dam was the most dangerous in the world and its foundations could give away any moment. The Iraqi government has dismissed the warning, describing SIGIR’s remarks as inaccurate and “totally untrue.”
It said millions of dollars have been spent to reinforce the dam’s foundations and there was no danger of it collapsing. But SIGIR said the U.S.-funded reconstruction money had made little progress. The sources said the government feared the rebels would seized on SIGIR’s warning to attack the dam and cause massive damage and casualties to downstream cities and towns particularly Mosul.
A catastrophic collapse could unleash a 20m (65ft) high wave on Mosul, a city of 1.7 million.
The government is reported to have sent more reinforcements to the area. The sources said the rebels might delay an attack on the dam until May when the reservoir is almost full with the melting of snow on Turkish mountains.
A truck laden with explosives has blown up near a controversial dam in Iraq, killing one person and damaging the main access bridge, Iraqi police said.
US Army engineers had warned in May that the Mosul dam, Iraq's largest, was at risk of imminent collapse. They said it could unleash a 20m (65ft) wave of water on the city of Mosul. An engineer at the dam said that Monday's explosion had destroyed a section of the metal bridge, about 1km from the dam.
Seepage The dam has been a problem for Iraqi engineers since it was constructed in 1984. It was built on water-soluble gypsum, which caused seepage within months of its completion and led investigators to describe the site as "fundamentally flawed".
A $27m (£13.4m) US-funded reconstruction project to help shore up the dam has made little or no progress. A US watchdog said reconstruction had been plagued by mismanagement and potential fraud. In a report published in October, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) said US-funded "short-term solutions" had yet to significantly solve the dam's problems. Iraq has said it is reducing the risk and insists there is no cause for alarm.
I hope/pray for the innocents in Iraq that there is indeed no cause for alarm and that someone is working on reducing the risks! Can't help but compare to what happened here in this country, I hope the "higher-ups" are not putting this on the bottom of their priority list, should this be in as bad as shape as the reports have said!
_____________________________
Faith, Hope and Love, the Greatest of these is LOVE!!!
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." George Orwell
Main Page
Log In
Register
Printable Version
RE: Mosul Dam - 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread