Lake Assad (, ''Buhayrat al-Assad'') is a
reservoir
A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation.
Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...
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 ...
in
Raqqa Governorate
Raqqa Governorate (, Kurdish: ''Parêzgeha Reqa'') is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is situated in the north of the country and covers an area of 19,618 km2. The capital is Raqqa. The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant claim ...
,
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 ...
. It was created in 1974 when construction of the
Tabqa Dam was completed. Lake Assad is Syria's largest lake, with a maximum capacity of and a maximum surface area of . A vast network of canals uses water from Lake Assad to
irrigate lands on both sides of the Euphrates. In addition, the lake provides drinking water for the city of
Aleppo
Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
and supports a fishing industry. The shores of Lake Assad have developed into important ecological zones.
Project history
The first plans for a dam in the Syrian part of the Euphrates date to 1927, but these were not carried out. In 1957, an agreement was reached with the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
for technical and financial aid for the construction of a dam in the Euphrates, and in 1960 a financial agreement was signed with
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. Another agreement to finance the project was signed with the Soviet Union in 1965.
The project included a hydroelectric power station in the Tabqa Dam, and the construction of a vast irrigation network capable of irrigating of land on both sides of the Euphrates.
Construction of the dam lasted between 1968 and 1973 and the flooding of the reservoir commenced in 1974 by reducing the flow of the Euphrates. The project was completed under the
presidency of Hafez al-Assad as part of his modernization policies and agricultural reforms. In 1975, Iraq complained that the flow of the Euphrates had been reduced below an acceptable level and threatened to bomb the Tabqa Dam; mediation by
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
and the Soviet Union eventually settled this dispute.
Rescue excavations in the Lake Assad region
In anticipation of the reservoir forming, an intensive, international program of archaeological
rescue excavations was carried out between 1963 and 1974. Excavations ranged in the date of sites: from the
Late Natufian to the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. Excavated sites include
Tell Abu Hureyra,
Emar,
Habuba Kabira,
Mureybet,
Tell es-Sweyhat,
Tell Fray and
Dibsi Faraj. At
Qal'at Ja'bar, a castle on a hilltop later turned into an island, a protective glacis was built and two
minaret
A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...
s at Mureybet and
Meskene were relocated beyond the flood zone.
Characteristics
The maximum capacity of Lake Assad is at a surface area of , making it the largest lake in Syria. The actual capacity is, however, much lower at , resulting in a surface area of . The proposed irrigation scheme suffered from a number of problems, including the high
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...
content in the reclaimed soils around Lake Assad,
soil salinization, the collapse of canals that distributed the water from Lake Assad, and the unwillingness of farmers to resettle in the reclaimed areas. As a result, only were irrigated from Lake Assad in 1984.
In 2000, the irrigated surface had risen to , which is 19 percent of the projected .
Lake Assad is the most important source of drinking water to Aleppo, providing the city through a pipeline with of drinking water per year.
[ The lake also supports a fishing industry.
]
The western shore of the lake has developed into an important marshland area. On the southeastern shore, some areas have been reforested with evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...
trees including the Aleppo pine
''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. It was officially named by the botanist Philip Miller in his 1768 book ''The Gardener's Dictionary''; he pro ...
and the Euphrates poplar. Lake Assad is an important wintering location for migratory birds
Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality.
The ...
and the government before 2004 undertook measures to protect certain shore areas from hunters by downgrading access roads. The island of Jazirat al-Thawra has been designated a nature reserve.
During the Syrian Civil War, water levels in Lake Assad have dropped significantly. This drop is possibly caused by the power station of the Tabqa Dam, which pumps more water out of the lake than is supplied by the Euphrates.
See also
*Baath Dam
The Freedom Dam (, , ), formerly the Baath Dam, is a dam on the Euphrates, 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 Me ...
* Tishrin Dam
* Water resources management in Syria
References
{{Reflist, 2
Euphrates
Assad
Raqqa Governorate
de:Assadsee