The Fallujah Barrage is a barrage on the Euphrates near

Fallujah Fallujah ( ar, ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah, Iraqi pronunciation: ) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important J ...

Al Anbar Governorate Al Anbar Governorate ( ar, محافظة الأنبار; ''muḥāfaẓat al-’Anbār''), or Anbar Province, is the largest governorate in Iraq by area. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan, ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. Construction of the barrage was completed in 1985. Unlike many other dams in the Euphrates, the Fallujah Barrage does not include a hydroelectric power station and its main function is to raise the water level of the river for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been dev ...

. The barrage consists of two separate parts. The main stretch of the barrage has ten gates measuring , allowing a maximum discharge of per second. The second part on the left bank of the river has eight gates that are wide. These gates divert water toward two separate irrigation channels. Their maximum discharge is per second. The construction of the Fallujah Barrage was first proposed in 1923 as part of a large project to increase the production of

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor p ...

in Iraq. Construction of the barrage did however start only much later. The barrage was constructed adjacent to the actual Euphrates channel so that the water did not have to be diverted during construction. The Euphrates flow was only diverted toward the barrage in 1985 when it was completed. It was intended that would be irrigated as part of this project. After the 2003 invasion in Iraq, repairs have been carried out at the Fallujah Barrage. During the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant occupation of Fallujah in April 2014, insurgents took control of the barrage and closed its floodgates for several days which briefly deprived downstream areas of water. The gates were later opened likely due to flooding in upstream areas and excessive reservoir levels. The militants also opened the dam in an attempt to flood oncoming Iraqi forces.

References

{{Euphrates dams Dams in Iraq Al Anbar Governorate Dams completed in 1985 Fallujah Dams on the Euphrates River 1985 establishments in Iraq Barrages (dam) Crossings of the Euphrates