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The Qaraoun Dam

Qaraoun Lake: Geographical Location:

  • The largest artificial lake in Lebanon
  • Located in Western Bekaa at 800 meters above sea level
  • Established on the Qaraoun dam (Litani River) in 1959
  • The area of the lake is around 12 km2
  • The lake capacity is around 220 million m3

Karoun1

Qaraoun Dam or “Albert Naqash Dam “

Dam Specifications

Karoun7
  • The dam is 60 meters high, 1090 meters long and 162 meters wide at most.
  • The overall size of the dam is around 2 million m3
  • Structure: The dam is made of stacked rock debris with a front layer of cobble rocks.
  • Leak proof tiles: made of reinforced concrete in the front facade of the dam, with a thickness varying between 50 cm in the lower section of the dam and 30 cm in the upper section of it. These tiles occupy an area of 47000 m2 and they are tied to each other by a rubber material called WATER STOP. Spaces left between tiles are filled with insulating asphalt-based materials.
Drainage1 The dam is equipped with two taps to empty the lake.
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  • The stored water is used to generate electric power in the three power stations: Markaba, Awai, and Joon which are affiliated to the Litani River Authority; and to irrigate more than 1400 hectares of agricultural lands in the Bekaa Valley as well as 36,000 hectares of agricultural lands in the South.
  • The experts who supervised the study of the Litani project all agreed that the location chosen by the engineer Ibrahim Abdul Aal and the geologist Dubertret for the construction of the dam, i.e. between Qaraoon and Suhmur, 800 meters above sea level, was the best geographical location and that is why it was approved as the project location.

 

Dam Facilities

Flood Discharge Spillway:

  • It is a tower made of reinforced concrete in the lake, related to a tunnel passing beneath the dam all the way to the river course.
  • The spillway is considered to be the most important facility related to the dam as it protects the dam in case of floods and provides a passageway that ensures the proper flow of water so as not to damage the dam.

Main Projects Executed in These Facilities

  • The Electrical Supply Facilities Include the Following:

Usines5  Karoun6

 Ibrahim Abdul Aal Station, also known as Markaba Station

South Bekaa Irrigation Project or  (Project 900)

Permanent link to this article: http://www.litani.gov.lb/en/?page_id=91