Al-Wehdah Dam
Al-Wehdah Dam is located on the Yarmouk River in the Irbid province of northern Jordan, on the border with Syria.
Construction encompassed a roller-compacted-concrete (RCC) gravity dam with an integral spillway having a discharge capacity of 8,000 m3/s. It is 110-meter tall from the foundation and has a crest length of 485 meters. About 5.8 million m3 of material was excavated for the foundation of the dam and the gravity abutments. More than 1.5 million m3 of roller-compacted-concrete (RCC) was used to erect the dam body, and 85,000 m3 of conventional-vibrated-concrete (CVC) was utilized to build the water intake and the spillway. In addition, a total of 132,000 linear meters of rotary drilling, and 120,000 m3 of cement injection were completed for the contact, consolidation, and deep curtain grouting of the dam foundation and the tunnel lining. The river diversion required a 1,058-meter long tunnel excavated to 10.5 meters in diameter and lined with reinforced concrete to a finished diameter of 9.5 meters. The dam forms a 115 million m3 water reservoir. The project is not only primarily providing clean water for human consumption to the city of Amman and agricultural land, but also contributing 18.8 MW of renewable energy to Jordan’s neighboring Syria. The dam has a key impact in reducing drinking water shortage and improving life quality and sustainability in the country’s rural areas.
The dam was completed in just 19 months, making it the 6th fastest constructed RCC dam to date worldwide. Construction commenced in 2003 and the site was fully commissioned in 2008. The Al-Wehdah Dam is owned and operated by the Jordan Valley Authority (JVA).