The Balli Dam is a

gravity dam A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation. Gravity dams are designed so that each section of the dam is ...

under construction on the Ortasu River (a tributary of the Hezil River) in Uludere district of

Şırnak Province Şırnak Province (, ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province in Turkey in the Southeastern Anatolia Region. Şırnak Province was created in 1990, with areas that were formerly part of the Siirt Province, Siirt, Hakkâri Province, Hakkâri and Mardin ...

, southeast

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Under contract from Turkey's

State Hydraulic Works The State Hydraulic Works () is a state agency, under the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Turkey, responsible for the utilization of all the country's water resources. The institution's four major functions are energy, agriculture, servi ...

, construction on the dam began in 2008 and a completion date has not been announced. The reported purpose of the dam is water storage and it can also support an 8.36 MW

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power station in the future. Another purpose of the dam which has been widely reported in the Turkish press is to reduce the freedom of movement of

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurds, Kurdish militant political organization and armed ...

(PKK) militants. Blocking and flooding valleys in close proximity to the Iraq–Turkey border is expected to help curb cross-border PKK smuggling and deny caves in which ammunition can be stored. A total of 11 dams along the border; seven in Şırnak Province and four in

Hakkâri Province Hakkâri Province (, ; ), is a province in the southeast of Turkey. The administrative centre is the city of Hakkâri. Its area is 7,095 km2, and its population is 287,625 (2023). The current Governor is Ali Çelik. The province encompasses ...

were implemented for this purpose. In Şırnak they are the Silopi,

Şırnak Şırnak () is a city in Şırnak District and the capital of Şırnak Province in Turkey. The Ibrahim Khalil border crossing with Iraq is one of the main links of Turkey to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The city is mainly populated by Kurds o ...

and Uludere Dams downstream of the Balli Dam and the Kavşaktepe, Musatepe and Çetintepe Dams upstream on the Ortasu River. In Hakkari are the Gölgeliyamaç (since cancelled) and

Çocuktepe Dam The Çocuktepe Dam is a gravity dam under construction on the Güzeldere River (a tributary of the Great Zab) in Çukurca district of Hakkâri Province, southeast Turkey. Under contract from Turkey's State Hydraulic Works, İnelsan İnşaat began c ...

s on the Güzeldere River and the Aslandağ and Beyyurdu Dams on the Bembo River. Balli dam was still under construction as of March 2019, with construction works 95% complete at that time.

References

{{Dams and reservoirs in Turkey Dams in Şırnak Province Gravity dams Dams in the Tigris River basin Roller-compacted concrete dams Dams under construction in Turkey

See also

References