Seepage Analysis Through and Beneath Al-Baghdadi Proposed Dam in Euphrates River, Western Iraq

The study aims to simulate the water seepage and identifying weak areas during and beneath the foundations of the proposed Al-Baghdadi Dam on the Euphrates River in western Iraq using the finite element method via the (SEEP/W, 2018) software. The virtual Al-Baghdadi Dam is designed to be an earth-fill dam with a length of (9) km and a height of (145) m.a.s.l. The Seepage analysis for the proposed dam was based on geological data beneath the foundations and design data for the dam body through cross-sections of selected stations located on the left bank near the river channel, and on the right bank of the dam. The results indicate that the amount of seepage through the dam body is relatively low and varies from one station to another. It increases and decreases with the rise and fall of water levels except for station (14+50), where the leakage value reached (6.73*10-4) cm/s through the dam body and the highest value is (1.82*10-3) cm/s through the foundations at the maximum level of (140) m.a.s.l. The design limits for water pressure are identified at various locations of the dam's cross-sections; these limits should be monitored by monitoring devices when the dam operates at the maximum reservoir level (140) m.a.s.l. and normal operating levels. The difference between the calculated data for the piezometers located before the grouting curtain and the asphalt diaphragm after it indicates the efficiency of its design.