The dam is on the Karkheh River in the Northwestern province of Khūzestān, the closest city being
Andimeshk to the east. It is 127 metres (417 ft) high and has a reservoir capacity of 5.9 billion cubic meters.
The Karkheh Dam is designed to irrigate 320,000 hectares of land, produce 520 MW of hydro-electricity and prevent downstream floods.In 1956, studies began on the Karkheh Dam by the American company Development and Resources Corporation, which was headed by David E.
Lilienthal, the former Chairman of the TVA. In 1990, the final studies were completed by Mahab Ghods Consulting Engineers. The engineering division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) started construction on the Karkheh Dam in 1992 and the dam was complete in 2001.During construction, 120 contractual and over eight consultative companies worked on the dam.
5,000 workers constructed the dam and 40 were killed in the process.
It is also possible to visit powerhouse which is located at the east side of the dam in the mountains.
The powerhouse has eight vertical Francis turbines.
The dam's current problem is the annual loss of reservoir capacity due to the erosion
...see more of soil in upstream areas.
Reference: www.wikipeida.org
