Status Operational Opened 1963 | Location Khuzestan-Andimeshk Opening date 1963 Height 203 m Construction began 1959 | |
Owner(s) Khuzestan Water & Power Authority Similar Karkheh Dam, Karun‑3 Dam, Salasel Castle, Shushtar Historical Hydraulic, Chogha Zanbil | ||
The Dez Dam (Persian: سد دز) is an arch dam on the Dez River in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, Iran. It is about 26 km (16 mi) north of Andimeshk. It was built between 1959 and 1963 by an Italian consortium and is owned by the Khuzestan Water & Power Authority. The dam is 203 metres (666 ft) high, making it one of the highest in the country, and has a reservoir capacity of 3,340,000,000 m3 (2,710,000 acre·ft). At the time of construction the Dez Dam was Iran's biggest development project. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production and irrigation. It has an associated 520 MW power station and its reservoir helps irrigate up to 80,500 ha (199,000 acres) of farmland. US$42 million of the cost to construct the dam came from the World Bank.
Contents
Map of Dez Dam, Iran
Background
Impregilo was involved with building the Dez Dam. Plans for the dam were finalized in 1957 and construction began in 1959. In 1962 the first generator was commissioned. In 1963 the dam was complete with two of the eight 65 MW Francis turbine generators commissioned. The remaining six were commissioned by 1970. In the late 1970s the irrigation of the project had reached 80,500 ha (199,000 acres) of its 110,000 ha (270,000 acres) goal.
The dam's current problem is the annual loss of reservoir capacity due to the erosion of soil in upstream areas. By 2006, the reservoir volume was estimated to be 2,600,000,000 m3 (2,100,000 acre·ft)