The Freedom Dam (, , ), formerly the Baath Dam, is a
dam on the
Euphrates
The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...
, located upstream from the city of
Raqqa in
Raqqa Governorate,
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
. Construction of the dam started in 1983 and was finished in 1986. It is intended to generate
hydroelectric power as well as regulate the irregular flow from the
Tabqa Dam, which is located upstream from the Freedom Dam. These irregularities in the flow from the Tabqa Dam are caused by changes in the electricity demand. The Freedom Dam is high and the installed
water turbines can generate 81 MW. The storage capacity of the Freedom Dam Reservoir is .
The Freedom Dam is one of three dams on the Syrian Euphrates, the other two being the Tabqa Dam, and the
Tishrin Dam south of the Syria-
Turkish border. Like the Baath Dam, the Tishrin Dam is also functionally related to the Tabqa Dam. Construction of the Tishrin Dam was partly motivated by the disappointing performance of the hydroelectric power station in the Tabqa Dam.
Before the
Syrian Civil War, Syria had plans to construct a fourth dam – the
Halabiye Dam – on the Euphrates, downstream from the Freedom Dam. Before its renaming to the Freedom Dam, the dam was named after the Syrian Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.
Syrian Civil War
On 4 February 2013, opposition forces captured the dam, a week before capturing the
Tabqa Dam.
The Baath Dam was captured from the
ISIL by the
Syrian Democratic Forces on 4 June 2017. Upon doing so, they renamed it the "Freedom Dam" (; ; ). ISIL used the complex as a prison.
In 2019, control of the dam was given to the Syrian government after the
Turkish invasion of Northern Syria.
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See also
* Lake Assad
* Water resources management in Syria
* List of cities and towns on the Euphrates River
Notes
References
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{{Euphrates dams
Hydroelectric power stations in Syria
Dams in Syria
Dams on the Euphrates River
Buildings and structures in Raqqa Governorate
Dams completed in 1986
Crossings of the Euphrates