Sultansuyu Dam

Sultansuyu Dam
Interactive map of Sultansuyu Dam
LocationTurkey
Coordinates38°19′09″N 38°03′06″E / 38.3191°N 38.0517°E / 38.3191; 38.0517
Construction began1986
Opening date1992
Dam and spillways
Height (foundation)55 feet (17 m)
Length721 metres (2,365 ft)
Reservoir
Total capacity3,205,000 cubic metres (4,192,000 cu yd)
Surface area2.26 square kilometres (0.87 sq mi)

Sultansuyu Dam is a dam built on the Sultansuyu River in Akçadağ, Malatya Province, Turkey. Constructed for irrigation purposes between 1986 and 1992, it was damaged by an earthquake in 2023 and the water was released for safety reasons.

Structure

Sultansuyu Dam is an earthfill dam is 55 feet (17 m) high and 721 metres (2,365 ft) long at the crest and was constructed with a capacity of 3,205,000 cubic metres (4,192,000 cu yd), impounding a lake more than 2 square kilometres (0.77 sq mi) in area.[1] It dams the Sultansuyu River, a right tributary of the Euphrates, in Akçadağ, Malatya Province.[2] It irrigated 17,614 hectares (43,530 acres).[1]

History

Development of the Sultansuyu Dam was backed by the Turkish State Hydraulic Works, to meet irrigation needs. Construction, by a division of Yüksel Holding,[2] began in 1986 and was completed in 1992.[1]

On February 6, 2023, earthquakes in southern Turkey damaged several dams in the region.[3] The Sultansuyu Dam suffered significant lateral cracking;[4][5] cracks over a meter (3 feet) wide were reported,[6] 400 metres (1,300 ft) long and 2.5–3 metres (8.2–9.8 ft) deep.[7] There was also cracking of the outlet works.[7] Engineers considered the dam to be damaged beyond repair,[6] and it was drained as a precaution.[8][9][10] Ceyhun Özçelik of the Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University Department of Water Resources said that the water level in the dam had decreased to a meter and a half.[10] As of 2024, the dam was under detailed investigation to determine how to repair it.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Sultansuyu Dam (Malatya, 1992)". Structurae. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  2. ^ a b "Sultansuyu Dam". Yüksel. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  3. ^ Hariri-Ardebili, Mohammad Amin; Tosun, Hasan (February 15, 2024). "Dams in the wake-up call of the 2023 Türkiye earthquake sequence: Insights from observed damages, risk assessment, and monitoring". International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 102 104284. doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104284. ISSN 2212-4209.
  4. ^ Blain, Cheryl Ann; et al. (2025). "Editorial". NHERI 2015-2025: A Decade of Discovery in Natural Hazards Engineering. Frontiers in Built Environment. Frontiers Media. p. 27. ISBN 978-2-8325-6939-9.
  5. ^ Hinks, Jonathan L. (2023). "Seismic input parameters". In Hinks, Jonathan L. (ed.). Earthquake Engineering for Dams and Reservoirs. Emerald Group. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-7277-6616-8.
  6. ^ a b "February's earthquakes have damaged the Middle East's dams". The Economist. April 5, 2023. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved February 8, 2026. Cracks over a metre wide have been seen in the Sultansuyu dam 200km north of the Syrian border
  7. ^ a b c Uygur, Pelin; et al. (2024). "Impacts of the February 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Turkey earthquakes on outlet works in rock formations". In Yan, Jinxiu; et al. (eds.). Tunnelling for a Better Life (Papers from the ITA-AITES World Tunnel Congress 2024). CRC Press. doi:10.1201/9781003495505-213. ISBN 978-1-040-11983-9.
  8. ^ "Experts warn huge dams in Turkey near seismic zones may cause major disasters in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq". SyriacPress. February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  9. ^ "Death toll rises after major quakes rock country's south". Hürriyet Daily News. February 8, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  10. ^ a b "Turkey.. Serious cracks in the Malatya Dam". 7enews.net. February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
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