Silveh Dam


The Silveh Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Lavin River just downstream of the village of Silveh in Piranshahr County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. The primary purpose of the dam is interbasin transfer for irrigation. Since completion, a tunnel and canals shift water from the reservoir north to the Chaparabad area. The project essentially transfers water from the Little Zab River basin to the Lake Urmia basin in an effort to help replenish the lake and irrigate about of farmland. Construction on the dam began in 2004 and it was expected to be complete by the end of 2015. The dam was effectively completed as of 2018. The village of Silveh will be flooded when the reservoir is impounded.
The dam is above its foundation with a length of. It has an uncontrolled spillway with a maximum discharge capacity of. The reservoir created by the dam will store of water. Near the northeastern edge of the reservoir water will be able to enter a long tunnel which will discharge it into the opposing valley, within the Lake Urmia basin. About of water will be transferred through the tunnel annually while an estimated will be sent downstream to Piranshahr during the same period.