Akra Kaur Dam, sometimes also referred to as Ankara Kaur Dam, is located near

Gawadar Gwadar (, ) is a port city on the southwestern coast of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. The city is located on the shores of the Arabian Sea, opposite Oman and has a population of over 90,000, according to the 2017 census. It was an ov ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. The dam was constructed in 1995 at a cost of $24 million to supply water to Gawadar and adjoining villages. It is the sole source of water supply to residents of the

Gwadar District Gwadar District (, ) is a district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The name Gwadar originates from Gwat and Dar ()، which means the door of air. Gwadar was notified as a separate district on 1 July 1977. The city of Gwadar serves as t ...

area. The dam contains a volume of water equal to 17,025 acre-feet, (21,000 megalitres), to provide 1.62 million gallons daily. The dam's dead storage level is 27 metres, below which is 5,270 acre-feet of water, and its live storage level maximum is 32 metres. As of February 2018, it has silted up to 26.3 metres, and the government is investigating a de-silting operation. In 2005, torrential rain in the area caused an overflow from the dam, inundating a number of villages and claiming at least 20 lives. In July 2012, reports emerged that the dam had dried up completely due to large-scale

siltation Siltation is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary o ...

. This has posed serious water supply challenges to local residents, including acute shortage of drinking water. In May 2017, Akra Dam ran dry. During that time, Gwadar city's sole water supply was brought from Mirani Dam via tanker truck, at a cost of Rs.220 million per month for 1.3-1.8 million gallons a day. The water was "drinkable but unsafe". A promised water treatment system was not organised. Truck drivers periodically struck due to long delayed wages, interrupting supply.

References

Dams in Pakistan Gwadar District Dams completed in 1995 1995 establishments in Pakistan Dams in Balochistan, Pakistan Gwadar West Bay {{Pakistan-dam-stub

See also

References