The Tuyamuyun Hydro Complex (THC) is a system of four interconnected

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 ...

s and a series of canals on the lower Amu Darya River, bordering

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

and

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. Its primary purpose is to provide water for irrigation in Xorazm,

Karakalpakstan Karakalpakstan, officially the Republic of Karakalpakstan, is an autonomous republic and part of Uzbekistan. It spans the northwestern portion of Uzbekistan. Its capital is Nukus (' / ). Karakalpakstan has an area of , and has a population of a ...

and Daşoguz regions of

and as far north as

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. The complex is located about southeast of

Urgench Urgench (//, ; ; ) is a district-level city in western Uzbekistan. It is the capital of Xorazm Region. The estimated population of Urgench in 2021 was 145,000, an increase from 139,100 in 1999. It lies on the Amu Darya River and the Shavat canal ...

Xorazm Region Khorazm Region, also known as the Khorezm or Xorazm Region, () is a viloyat (region) of Uzbekistan located in the northwest of the country in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River. It borders with Turkmenistan, Karakalpakstan, and the Bukha ...

, Uzbekistan and about north of Gazojak in

Lebap Region Lebap Region () is one of the regions of Turkmenistan. It is in the northeast of the country, bordering Afghanistan, Uzbekistan along the Amu Darya. Its administrative centre is Türkmenabat (formerly named Çärjew). It has an area of 93,727 sq ...

, Turkmenistan. It was constructed between 1969 and 1983. Aside from irrigation, the complex also provides water for industrial and

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

uses. A 150 MW power station on the main dam contains six 25 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 ...

turbine-generators. The main dam (THC Main Dam) is located on the Amu Darya, straddling the border of

and

. It is the center-piece of the complex. The main dam is a long and high

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 ...

. It creates the Channel Reservoir which has a storage capacity of about and length of . Water from the Channel Reservoir can be fed into the adjacent Kaparas and Sultansanjar Reservoirs for later use. The Sultansanjar Reservoir is connected via a canal to the Koshbulak Reservoir which lies just east. When first completed, all four reservoirs had a capacity of about but due to silt build-up, this had been reduced to about by 2001. A system of canals off the main dam supply a network of irrigation canals to the various regions for irrigation. Diversion of river water into these canals, along with similar diversions of water from the nearby Syr Darya River, has greatly contributed to the

desiccation Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic (attracts and holds water) substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container. The ...

of most of the

Aral Sea The Aral Sea () was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up into desert by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhst ...

, an endorrheic lake basin. Prior to damming and diversion, the two rivers were the main sources of surface water that replenished the lake.

References

{{stack, {{Portal, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Water, Renewable energy Dams in Uzbekistan Dams in Turkmenistan Gravity dams Hydroelectric power stations in Uzbekistan Hydroelectric power stations in Turkmenistan Dams completed in 1983 Energy infrastructure completed in 1983 1983 establishments in Uzbekistan 1983 establishments in the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic Xorazm Region Lebap Region Hydroelectric power stations built in the Soviet Union Dams in the Aral Sea basin Amu Darya