The Sykia Dam is a mostly constructed but unused earth-filled embankment dam on the

Acheloos River The Achelous ( el, Αχελώος, grc, Ἀχελῷος ''Akhelôios''), also Acheloos, is a river in western Greece. It is long. It formed the boundary between Acarnania and Aetolia of antiquity. It empties into the Ionian Sea. In ancient ...

along the border of

Karditsa Karditsa ( el, Καρδίτσα ) is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The city of Karditsa is the capital of Karditsa regional unit of region of Thessaly. Inhabitation is attested from 9000 BC. Karditsa ls linked with GR-30, the ...

and Arta,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. The tall dam is part of the Acheloos River Diversion which is intended to divert a portion of the Acheloos west to irrigate in the

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

plains. The project includes the Sykia, Messochora,

Mouzaki Mouzaki ( el, Μουζάκι) is a town and a municipality in the northwestern part of the Karditsa regional unit, Greece. Mouzaki is located on the southwestern edge of the Thessalian plain, where the river Pamisos descends from the Agrafa moun ...

and Pyli Dams along with a long channel. The idea for the Sykia Dam and overall diversion project was first envisioned in the 1930s but a lack of funding precluded construction. Interest in the project was revived in 1984 and construction on the dam began in 1996. Over the next several years there was a series of legal battles that led to final construction stalling, most recently in 2005. Opponents of the scheme cite significant changes to the environment, flooding of villages and that the scheme will divert of water annually from the Acheloss. Supporters call on the benefit to the lucrative cotton crops it will help irrigate and the dam's planned 120 MW hydroelectric power plant.

References

{{Achelous River dams Dams in Greece Hydroelectric power stations in Greece Earth-filled dams Interbasin transfer Dams on the Achelous River Buildings and structures in Karditsa (regional unit) Buildings and structures in Arta (regional unit) Dam controversies

See also

References