University of sulaimani

College of engineering
Water resource department

Ermenek Dam

Supervisor: Dr. Nyaz Mohammed

Students: Sharo Shwan

Academic years: (2021-2022)

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Table of Contents
Abstract 3
Introduction 4
Location of the project 5
Design of the project 8
Social activities 10
conclusion 11

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Abstract
The Ermenek Dam is a double-curvature concrete arch dam located
on the Göksu River in Karaman Province, Turkey. The 210 m (689 ft)
tall dam (218 m (715 ft) from thalweg level) was the highest in
Turkey at the time of its construction and currently ranks third after
Deriner Dam and Yusufeli Dam. The development was backed by
the Turkish State Hydraulic Works. Completed in 2009, the primary
purpose of the dam is to support its 300 MW power station.

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Introduction

The plant consists of an arch dam, a large grout curtain, a pressure

tunnel, a power plant and appurtenant structures.

It is ideally located in a narrow gorge with a natural width at the

base of 20 m and at the crest of 110 m only. With 1014.1 Gwh per
year generation capacity, it provides electricity for 470.000
households, in other words, the yearly electricity need of a city with
a population of 1 million. The Project costs of 532 million Euros and
will be paid back in 7 years and provide approximately 80 million
Euros contribution to Turkish economy per year.

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LOCATION OF THE PROJECT

Ermenek Dam and HEPP are located at mid-south of Turkey on the

main branch of Göksu River in the West Taurus Mountain.

DESIGN OF THE PROJECT

The project was developed after more than 15 years of

investigation. The decision for the arch the dam was made during
the Feasibility Studies. Although there was an alternative offer for a
rockfill dam design study founded on impervious flysch, the owner
decided to execute the double curvature arch dam located in the
narrow gorge of the limestone mega block which lead to a reservoir
volume of 4.600 Mio m3.

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Dam and spillways
Type of Impound Height Length Width Width Dam
dam s (crest) (base) volume

Arch, Göksu 210 m 132 m 7 m (23 25 m (82 272 m3

double- River (689 ft) (433 ft) ft) ft) (356 cu
curvature yd)

Reservoir
Total capacity Surface area

4,582,000,000 m3 (3,714,688 59 km2 (23 sq mi)

acre⋅ft)

Power Stations
Hydraulic head Turbines Installed capacity Annual
generation

310 m (1,017 ft) 2 x 150 MW 300 MW 1048 GWh

(gross) Francis-type

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Besides the dam, the project consists of a power house with two
Francis turbines with an installed capacity of 300 MW, a pressure
tunnel with 8 km length, a surge tank, an inclined shaft and a
switchyard. To provide the water tightness of the reservoir a huge
grout curtain was necessary, which had to be applied from four
galleries driven in the limestone block.

Furthermore, besides several village roads also the Ermenek-

Anamur state road had to be relocated and in total more than 60
km of new roads had been constructed.

Figure 1: Groundwater table observation Figure 2: Grout curtain and tunnels

During impounding the groundwater table was carefully recorded

to see if any water loss landslide would occur.
The relocated Ermenek-Anamur road is shown in green color in the
figure above. It was decided to choose the alignment via the dam
crest as it was the shortest and therefore the most economical
solution.
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SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
Each and every dam has an influence on nature as well as the
ecological balance and sociological life.

all possible impacts like the change of water quality and quantity,
change of climate, change of life, and influence on the animals and
humans are described and several measures like

minimum environmental flow is recommended. Regarding eventual

possible climate change, there is no sign of a negative impact on
the vegetation up to now. E.g. influence on the growth of cherries
due to additional fog.

What can be reported already is that there are several positive

influences during construction time in the region carried out by the
Turkish-Austrian consortium on their own initiative:

 Several support is given to the local communities

 A municipality communication center is erected in one of
the villages

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 More than 1500 employees, most of them from the vicinity
of the region, worked during the last 10 years of
construction stage on this project. More than 100 people
will work permanent during the operation period
 A permanently guest house and a dormitory for 200
students is built by the Turkish contractor.
 A small skiing-resort is established in the vicinity of Ermenek
city under the leadership of the Austrian Resident
Engineers. A skiing association is founded, the facilities of a
ski-lift, skiing hut and 50 pair of ski equipment is handed
over to the local people.Yearly skiing races are being held
regularly.
 Finally, water sports activities started under the newly
founded “Ermenek Nature and Water Sports Club”. Also,
fish farms and restaurants are going to be established.
 Last but not least, is the 4the largest lake in Turkey,
together with the above-mentioned features it will be the
center of attraction for local tourism

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Conclusion
Water is a basic human need and without it life is impossible.
Turkey, located between the cross roads of Europe and Asia, has a
semi-arid climate and precipitation varies with respect to season
and region. Therefore, the rivers in Turkey have irregular regimes
compared to the rivers in Europe. As a developing country, dams
play a vital role in the sustainable development of Turkey.

The outcome is a 300 MW power plant with 1014.1 Gwh per year
of electricity generation,4.6 billion m3 of reservoir for flood control
and approximately 80 million Euros contribution to the Turkish
economy per year.

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References

1. Researchgate

2. Dinçergök T., (2007). The Role of Dam Safety in Dam-Break

Induced Flood Management, International Congress on River
Basin Management, 22-24 March 2007, Antalya, Turkey.

3. Tanrıvermiş H., Akipek Ş., Bayramin İ., Gün A., Aliefendioğlu Y.,
(2008). Analyze of terrain incomes, capitalization rates and
costs of lands in Ermenek Dam and HEPP project area, Ankara
University

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