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You would have to evacuate Mosul (1.7 million people) and probably also Baghdad (7 millions), all in a country thorn by war where refugee camps are already burs

You would have to evacuate Mosul (1.7 million people) and probably also Baghdad (7 millions), all in a country thorn by war where refugee camps are already bursting with people. Plus of course the entity that control Mosul (ISIS) is not keen on letting civilians go given their value as human shields.

dajohnson89 10y ago
But this issue with the dam was apparent before ISIS, no?
- thatguy0900 10y ago
  The article makes it seem like everyone knew it was a bad idea to build it, but Saddam wanted it built and everyone was too afraid/being payed to not say no.
- PhasmaFelis 10y ago
  The constant infusion of concrete isn't an emergency measure. It's how the dam was intended to operate. The problem (from the planners' point of view, anyway) isn't that it requires constant grouting, it's that it stopped getting constant grouting.
  - heisenbit 10y ago
    It was not intended to operate this way when it was built. Maybe there was a plan to fill holes with concrete but never on that scale as was decided later. Note decided later - unclear whether ever enough grouting was done to fill the need. The stoppage of grouting was just another straw on the camel's back.
  - dajohnson89 10y ago
    My broader point is that a dam which requires constant grouting seems like a pretty bad idea.
    - VLM 10y ago
      All dams require maintenance or they fail. You are correct in that its merely a question of magnitude. Completely abandoned, Hoover Dam for example would last a lot longer, but hardly forever. Where the line is drawn is pretty arbitrary, and if the alternative is the people have no electricity or irrigation water so they riot and kill you ... Saddam was famous for the stick but sometimes he used the carrot to keep his country together. No one is keeping it together now, of course.
- SonOfLilit 10y ago
  Didn't read the article, but from comments here I understand ISIS is the reason maintenance work halted.

dajohnson89 10y ago

But this issue with the dam was apparent before ISIS, no?

thatguy0900 10y ago
The article makes it seem like everyone knew it was a bad idea to build it, but Saddam wanted it built and everyone was too afraid/being payed to not say no.
PhasmaFelis 10y ago
The constant infusion of concrete isn't an emergency measure. It's how the dam was intended to operate. The problem (from the planners' point of view, anyway) isn't that it requires constant grouting, it's that it stopped getting constant grouting.
- heisenbit 10y ago
  It was not intended to operate this way when it was built. Maybe there was a plan to fill holes with concrete but never on that scale as was decided later. Note decided later - unclear whether ever enough grouting was done to fill the need. The stoppage of grouting was just another straw on the camel's back.
- dajohnson89 10y ago
  My broader point is that a dam which requires constant grouting seems like a pretty bad idea.
  - VLM 10y ago
    All dams require maintenance or they fail. You are correct in that its merely a question of magnitude. Completely abandoned, Hoover Dam for example would last a lot longer, but hardly forever. Where the line is drawn is pretty arbitrary, and if the alternative is the people have no electricity or irrigation water so they riot and kill you ... Saddam was famous for the stick but sometimes he used the carrot to keep his country together. No one is keeping it together now, of course.
SonOfLilit 10y ago
Didn't read the article, but from comments here I understand ISIS is the reason maintenance work halted.