| Freedom Dam | |
|---|---|
 Baath Dam (right),Tabqa Dam (centre), andLake Assad (left) from space, June 1996. North is in the upper left corner of the image. | |
  Location of Freedom Dam in Syria | |
| Official name | سد الحرية |
| Location | Raqqa Governorate,Syria |
| Coordinates | 35°53′07″N38°44′50″E / 35.88528°N 38.74722°E /35.88528; 38.74722 |
| Construction began | 1983 |
| Opening date | 1986 |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Euphrates |
| Height | 14 m (46 ft) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Freedom Dam Reservoir |
| Total capacity | 0.09 km3 (0.02 cu mi) |
| Power Station | |
| Installed capacity | 81MW |
TheFreedom Dam (Arabic:سد الحرية,Kurdish:Bendava Azadî,Classical Syriac:ܣܟܪܐ ܕܚܐܪܘܬܐ,romanized: Sekro d'Ḥirutho), formerly theBaath Dam, is adam on theEuphrates, located 22 kilometres (14 mi) upstream from the city ofRaqqa inRaqqa Governorate,Syria. Construction of the dam started in 1983 and was finished in 1986. It is intended to generatehydroelectric power as well as regulate the irregular flow from theTabqa Dam, which is located 18 kilometres (11 mi) upstream from the Freedom Dam. These irregularities in the flow from the Tabqa Dam are caused by changes in the electricity demand.[1] The Freedom Dam is 14 metres (46 ft) high and the installedwater turbines can generate 81 MW. The storage capacity of the Freedom Dam Reservoir is 0.09 cubic kilometres (0.022 cu mi).[2]
The Freedom Dam is one of three dams on the Syrian Euphrates, the other two being the Tabqa Dam, and theTishrin Dam 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of the Syria-Turkish border. Like the Baath Dam, the Tishrin Dam is also functionally related to the Tabqa Dam. Construction of the Tishrin Dam was partly motivated by the disappointing performance of the hydroelectric power station in the Tabqa Dam.[3] Before theSyrian Civil War, Syria had plans to construct a fourth dam – theHalabiye Dam – on the Euphrates, downstream from the Freedom Dam.[4] Before its renaming to the Freedom Dam, the dam was named after the Syrian Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.[5]
On 4 February 2013, opposition forces captured the dam, a week before capturing theTabqa Dam.[6][7] The Baath Dam was captured from theISIL by theSyrian Democratic Forces on 4 June 2017. Upon doing so, they renamed it the "Freedom Dam" (Kurdish:Bendava Azadî;Arabic:سد الحرية;Classical Syriac:ܣܟܪܐ ܕܚܐܪܘܬܐ,romanized: Sekro d'Ḥirutho).[8] ISIL used the complex as a prison.[9] In 2019, control of the dam was given to the Syrian government after theTurkish invasion of Northern Syria.[5]
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