Mosul Dam Needs Endless Grouting

Iraq's Mosul Dam holds back 11.1 cubic kilometers of water, and a 2016 US Embassy warning estimated that a collapse could kill up to 1.5 million people in the resulting flash floods. Engineers built the dam on gypsum bedrock, a soft mineral that dissolves as water circulates through it and creates new gaps beneath the foundation. To keep the structure stable, 24 machines continuously inject a liquid mixture of cement and additives into those openings. Workers have pumped more than 50,000 tonnes of material beneath the dam since its reservoir filled in 1986, but constant maintenance remains necessary because the rock continues to dissolve.

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