Aswan Dam in Egypt. Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station

The Aswan Dam is an engineering structure in Egypt, striking in its size - 430 million m 3 of soil was invested in its foundation. The length of the upper dam is 3.6 km, its width is almost 1 km, and its height exceeds a hundred meters. The width of the dam crest is 40 m. In just one second, all water intakes of the Aswan Dam pass through 16 thousand cubic meters of water.

Why was such a large-scale and powerful structure needed and why was it built? To find out the answer to this question, you will have to dive into the history of Egypt.

The Nile River, which flows throughout Egypt, is the longest river on the planet. It has been the source of life for ancient Egyptian civilization since ancient times. And now the Nile has for Egypt vital importance. Almost the entire population of the Land of the Pharaohs is concentrated along its shores, and there are also such big cities, like Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, and in its delta stands the beautiful port city of Alexandria.

Also in Ancient Egypt Every spring and summer, the rapid tributaries of the Nile overflowed their banks, causing severe flooding - the water in the river could rise up to 8 meters and wash away entire fields. However, along with the water came a large number of fertile silt, which, settling on the fields, served as an excellent fertilizer for the soil. If there was no Nile flood, the year was considered hungry and barren.

Construction of the Aswan Dam

The first project to regulate the waters of the Nile and control its floods was developed back in the 11th century, but technically at that time it was not feasible. It was only in 1902 that British engineers built the first dam, 54 m high and almost 2 km long. But initially the project was imperfect, and this building had to be expanded twice - in 1907–1912 and 1929–1933. This dam, called the Lower Dam, protected the banks of the Nile until the beginning of the second half of the 20th century.

But in 1946, for the first time, the water almost reached top level dam, and the problem of building a new dam, which would be located upstream of the Nile, became acute. Its design began in 1952, immediately after the completion of the Egyptian Revolution. But further development of the project and the construction of the structure itself were delayed for years due to the difficult political situation in the country.

The USSR at that time was actively fighting for influence on the countries of the “third world”, and in 1958, in the midst of “ cold war", suggested to Egypt technical assistance in the construction of a hydroelectric power station and the Aswan Dam, but in exchange for the regime’s loyalty to the Soviet Union. The project was developed by the Hydroproject Research Institute, and construction began two years later.

The construction of the Aswan High Dam pursued the following goals:

• Flood prevention.
• Uninterrupted supply of electricity to residential buildings and infrastructure.
• Creation of a network of irrigation canals for Agriculture.
• Ensuring year-round navigation on the Nile.

The Aswan Dam took 10 years to build (from 1960 to 1970), but the filling of the huge reservoir began in 1964. This artificial reservoir was called “Lake Nasser”, and its dimensions are truly impressive - length - 550 km, and width - 35 km. Its area is 5.25 million km 2. Not a single photo can fully convey the scale of this reservoir created by human hands.

The Aswan hydroelectric power station is equipped with 12 generators with a total capacity of 2100 MW. The entire Aswan hydro complex was put into operation at the beginning of 1971. The ribbon was ceremonially cut by then Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. The opening was also attended by a representative from the leadership of the USSR N.V. Podgorny.

Interesting information: during the construction of the Aswan Dam and hydroelectric power station under the auspices of UNESCO, many monuments of ancient Egyptian culture and architecture were transferred, which were in danger of being completely flooded during the construction of the structure. As a result, 24 monuments were moved, including the famous temple complex of Abu Simbel and the Temple of Isis.

Environmental problems of the Aswan Dam

The Aswan High Dam is a man-made product, and like any such structure, it has significant drawbacks. Its construction caused many environmental problems, which, despite the efforts of engineers, designers and builders, could not be prevented and eliminated.

The main problems caused by the construction of the Aswan Dam:

• The flooding of large areas has led to significant part Egypt's population had to be relocated to other areas.
• Fertile silt, which previously spread itself across the fields, now remains above the dams, causing the water level in Lake Nasser to rise.
• Many supplies from the Nile stopped coming to the coast. nutrients, as a result, the fish catch decreased.
• Along the lower Nile, erosion of agricultural soils and coastlines occurred. Sooner or later, this could destroy the entire lake fishing industry of the country.

Despite all the harm the Aswan Dam has for the environment, one cannot fail to recognize its enormous advantage - it made it possible to prevent many Negative consequences floods in 1964 and 1973 and droughts in 1972–1973 and 1983–1984.

Interest among tourists

The Aswan Dam could not go unnoticed by numerous travelers, who gave it the name Pyramid of the 20th century. From the photo it is unlikely that you will be able to assess the scale of this truly gigantic structure created by human hands - this place needs to be visited. Excursion to Aswan hydroelectric power station and the dam is included in many tours that include a trip along the Nile River on a liner. You can also visit it as part of a separate excursion costing $50 and lasting 3 hours.

During the tour, tourists climb to the highest edge of the dam, where the highway is located, and visit the monument to the dam builders. There is also a monument dedicated to the friendship of the peoples of Egypt and the USSR - an open lotus flower 70 m high. This is not surprising, because the Aswan Dam was built by the joint efforts of 30 thousand Egyptians and 2 thousand Soviet engineers and builders.

In 1971, a dam was built for the first time, which established control over great river Nile. The dam is a grandiose and bold project; it is not without reason that it is also called “the new miracle of Egypt.”

The Aswan Dam, on the one hand, brought the desired benefits, but, on the other hand, led to serious difficulties. Climate change has occurred in Southern Egypt, and it rains noticeably more often.

Aswan is the southernmost city of mainland Egypt. Located on the banks of the Nile, about thousands of kilometers from the river delta, this city was large in ancient times shopping center, the intersection of caravan routes. Various goods were brought here from the central (primarily ivory), which were then transported down the Nile towards the port cities of the sea. Aswan has about 275 thousand inhabitants.

The climate of Aswan was once dry and hot, but after the construction of the Aswan Dam and the formation of a huge air temperature near the city, the local air increased to tropical levels (although the average temperature remained the same - in the summer, in the afternoon, it reaches 45 degrees). Now exotic flowers and trees grow in the once deserted Aswan.

History of the Aswan Dam

In 1902, the first dam was opened, installed by engineers slightly south of Aswan. It was built on in 1933. But this Aswan Dam could not cope with the waters of the Nile, so the need arose to build a new dam.

On January 15, 1971, the second dam across the Nile south of Aswan was officially opened by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Work began eleven years earlier, under President Abdel Nasser.

The dam plan was developed in, and installation was carried out with the assistance of Soviet Union. USSR and signed a contract for the construction of the Aswan Dam and hydroelectric power station on the Nile in 1958. Moscow provided 400 million rubles, supplied equipment, raw materials and specialists.

Construction of the dam was a very labor-intensive and expensive process. The construction of the dam involved such a quantity of stones, sand, clay and concrete that 17 Cheops pyramids could easily be built from this material. More than 450 people died during the work.

In order for the dam to be installed, the surrounding area had to be cleared. For this purpose, the houses of more than 60,000 residents were demolished, who as a result were forced to move to new houses.

A lot of historical and natural monuments were flooded. Only the most valuable ones were demolished. It controlled. The beautiful island of Philae, for example, disappeared forever, but the temples from it were dismantled into numbered pieces, and then again, like a mosaic, assembled on another one, located at a higher altitude.

The most difficult and expensive part of the action was the rescue of the famous rock temples at Abu Simbel, which are located 282 kilometers south of Aswan. Both temples, built around 1260 BC for Ramses II, were carved out of rock. The facade of the largest temple is guarded by giant statues of the pharaoh - 20 meters in height. First, to protect the statues from rising water, a huge glass House, and visitors were lowered down in glass vessels. But eventually, the temples and statues were carved out of the mountain, sawn into transportable blocks and put back together at another location nearby. This complex work took 4 years.

Features of the structure of the Aswan Dam

The dam is an earthen dam with a granite rock fill and a clay and cement core. The height of the dam is II meters, length is 3.8 kilometers. At the base it is 975 meters wide and narrows towards the upper edge to 40 meters. On the right bank, channels and 6 tunnels were cut into the rock, supplying water to the hydroelectric power station. At the beginning there is something like a triumphal arch through which cars can enter. At the very top of the dam there is a road consisting of four lanes. At the very rear end of the dam there are monoliths placed in a circle and symbolizing the sacred lotus flower. The dam created a giant artificial reservoir, who was named Nasser, in honor of the President of Egypt. This is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. It covers an area of ​​5,244 square kilometers and extends 510 kilometers to the south, through Nubia to Sudan. Water from Lake Nasser is used to irrigate the land. Now you can get high yields every year. The purpose of building the dam was to control the water level of the Nile. For many centuries, people suffered from severe river floods followed by flooding of fields and destruction of very valuable crops. Of course, with the installation of the dam, such spills are no longer recorded, the water level is controlled, and the dam supplies electricity to factories and cities in the country (passing through the dam, the water rotates turbines that generate half of Egypt’s electricity), but new problems have arisen. For example, the installation of a dam led to changes in the soil around due to the increased salt content in the water and a change in this place.

In the United Arab Republic In Egypt, water is critical to agricultural development, with the country's only source of water supply being the Nile River subject to significant fluctuations.

To control the waters of the Nile, several low-pressure dams were previously built on the river, however, significant volumes of Nile water, up to 32 billion m per year, continued to be discharged into the Mediterranean Sea. In this regard, the idea arose of building a high-rise dam on the Nile to store water, storing surpluses in high-flow years and using them in low-flow years.

In accordance with the international Agreement, the development of the Aswan High Dam project was entrusted to the Hydroproject Institute.

The chief engineer of the project was Nikolai Aleksandrovich Malyshev, deputy head and chief engineer of the institute, Doctor of Technical Sciences, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Hero of Socialist Labor, State Prize Laureate.

The project involved the construction of a rockfill dam on the Nile 7 km south of the site of the old Aswan Dam, built in 1905. The dam has a total length of 3,600 meters, of which 520 meters are in the riverbed. The width of the dam at the base is 980m and at the crest 40m. The height of the dam is 111m. The body of the dam consists of a clay core, a horizontal clay slab, sand prisms, and rock fill. At the base of the core, its continuation is a vertical injection curtain that secures alluvium at the base of the dam to a depth of 180 m to the bedrock, which actually represents a second underground impervious dam.

The Nile flow is diverted into a new 1950m long conduit, consisting of two open channels- inlet and outlet, connected by six tunnels, each 250m long, round section with a diameter of 17.0 m with a reinforced concrete lining 1.0 m thick, passed through a rock pillar under the right abutment of the dam.

Each tunnel, bifurcating, supplies water to the hydroelectric power station building, where 12 turbines with a capacity of 175 thousand kW are located, and to bottom spillways for the discharge of flood waters. Electricity generation at hydroelectric power stations is 10 billion kWh in an average water year, which was twice the output of all power plants in the country at that time. Above the entrance head of each tunnel there is a water intake 60 m high, equipped with flat wheeled emergency repair and sliding repair gates. Winches are used as the drive mechanism.

On the left bank of the dam there is a catastrophic spillway for releasing water if the maximum permissible water level in the reservoir is exceeded. The artificial reservoir created by the dam is one of the largest in the world. Its length is 500 km and the average width is 10 km. The total volume of the reservoir is 157 billion m3, of which 30 billion m3 is allocated for filling with sediment (over approximately 500 years), 37 billion m3 is a reserve for the accumulation of high floods and 10 billion m3 is for water losses from filtration and evaporation.

The presented project passed all examinations, incl. examination of the International Committee and was approved and was subsequently implemented in practice. January 9, 1960 is considered the date of commencement of work on the construction of the Aswan High Dam.

50 years ago, on May 15, 1964, in a solemn ceremony in the presence of the President of the UAR, the Heads of Government of the USSR, Iraq and Algeria, the closure of the Nile River was completed. Thus, the first stage of construction was completed, including a dam with a height of 47.0 m, with partial completion of the injection curtain, horizontal sections of six tunnels, six sections of the hydroelectric power station and six water intakes, not built on full height with the placement of the drive mechanism - operational winches of emergency and repair gates on a temporary reinforced concrete overpass. This solution made it possible to regulate, if necessary, the skipping of construction costs and to continue the construction of the water intake to the design levels. The ceremonial events were attended by Chief Engineer project Malyshev N.A. and Soviet specialists - participants in the construction.

During the blocking of the river, preliminary constriction of the channel was carried out by backfilling the stone banquet of the first stage dam in a pioneering way from both banks, as well as under the water with self-unloading barges. By the time the work on blocking the river was completed, within the boundaries of the dumped dam made of sorted stone, sand had been washed under the water using hydromechanization means from previously prepared sand.

Works on final stage the dam was covered on May 13-15, 1964 in 62 hours continuous operation 74,500 m3 of stone were dumped into the hole, including the pioneer method from the right bank side 44,760 m, from the left bank 21,710 m3 and from self-unloading barges 8,980 m. The highest intensity of dumping was: 1,980 m3/h (including from barges 500 m3 /h).

Simultaneously with blocking the channel, work was carried out to flood the canal and wash out the lintels. The canal was first flooded by pumping a small amount of water into it using specially installed pumping stations. To speed up the process of initial erosion of the lintels, trenches were made in them and small explosive charges were placed for subsequent detonation.

At 12 o'clock 35min. On May 14, the upper lintel was blown up. After 20 minutes, intense soil erosion began. After 30 min. the water in the pit reached the calculated level, at the same time the lower cofferdam was blown up. A few minutes later, the pit was completely flooded, the water levels leveled out and the river flow was directed through culverts located on the right bank.

During the construction period, about 50 hydroproject workers were involved in the Hydroproject PIU for the construction of the Aswan hydroelectric complex and the Construction Department, seven of whom (L.S. Alliluyev, B.I. Godunov, V.I. Zhigunov, A.G. Mukhamedov, A. P. Pavlov, I. N. Rozhkov and V. Ya. Shaitanov) are still working. A list of Hydroproject employees - participants in design and construction is attached.

The Aswan hydroelectric complex was named outstanding by the UN Social Commission engineering structure XX century.

Head of the construction of the Aswan hydroelectric complex B.I.Godunov

List of Hydroproject employees who worked in the Hydroproject PIU during the construction of the Aswan hydroelectric complex:

History of construction

The project of regulating the waters of the Nile by building a dam below Aswan was first drawn up in the 11th century by Ibn al-Haytham. However, the project could not be implemented with technical means that time. The British began construction of the first dam in 1899, finishing it in 1902. The project was designed by Sir William Willcox and involved several distinguished engineers, including Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Aird, whose firm, John Aird and Company, was the main contractor. The dam was an impressive structure 1,900 m long and 54 m high. The initial design, as it soon became clear, was inadequate, and the height of the dam was raised in two stages, 1907-1912 and 1929-1933.

Construction began in 1960. The Upper Dam was completed on July 21, 1970, however the reservoir began to fill already in 1964, when the first stage of construction of the dam was completed. The reservoir put many archaeological sites in danger of disappearing, so a rescue operation was undertaken under the auspices of UNESCO, as a result of which 24 major monuments were moved to more safe places or transferred to countries that helped with the work (Temple Debod in Madrid and Temple Dendur in New York).

The grand opening and commissioning of the Aswan hydropower complex took place on January 15, 1971, with the participation of the President of the UAR Anwar Sadat, who cut the ribbon in the blue arch on the crest of the dam, and the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR N.V. Podgorny.

Main characteristics of the waterworks

Panorama of Aswan High Dam

The Aswan High Dam is 3600 m long, 980 m wide at the base, 40 m wide at the crest and 111 m high, it consists of 43 million m³ soil materials. The maximum water flow through all culverts of the dam is 16,000 m³/s.

The Toshka Canal connects the reservoir with Lake Toshka. The reservoir, named Lake Nasser, has a length of 550 km and a maximum width of 35 km; Its surface area is 5250 km² and its total volume is 132 km³.

The capacity of twelve generators (each 175 MW) is 2.1 GW of electricity. When the hydroelectric power station reached its design output by 1967, it provided about half of all energy generated in Egypt.

After the construction of the Aswan hydroelectric complex, the negative consequences of the floods of 1964 and 1973, as well as the droughts of 1972-1973 and 1983-1984, were prevented. A significant number of fisheries have developed around Lake Nasser.

Ecological problems

In addition to the benefits, however, the Nile seizure caused many environmental problems. Vast areas of lower Nubia were flooded, displacing more than 90,000 people. Lake Nasser flooded valuable archaeological sites. Fertile silt, which was washed annually during floods into the Nile floodplains, is now retained above the dam. Nowadays, silt is gradually raising the level of Lake Nasser. In addition, changes have occurred in the Mediterranean ecosystem - fish catches on the coast have decreased as nutrients have ceased to flow from the Nile.

There is some erosion of farmland downriver. Shoreline erosion, due to a lack of new sediment from floods, will eventually cause the loss of lake fisheries, which are currently Egypt's largest source of fish. Lowering of the Nile Delta will lead to an influx sea ​​water to its northern part, where rice plantations are now located. The delta itself, no longer fertilized by Nile silt, lost its former fertility. The production of red brick, which uses delta clay, was also affected. There is significant erosion in the eastern Mediterranean coastlines due to a shortage of sand, which was previously brought by the Nile.

The need to use artificial fertilizers supplied by international corporations is also controversial because, unlike river silt, they cause chemical pollution. Inadequate irrigation control has resulted in some farmland being destroyed by flooding and increasing salinity. This problem is exacerbated by weakened river flows, causing salt water to intrude further into the delta.

Mediterranean fisheries were also affected by the dam's construction, as the marine ecosystem was heavily dependent on the rich flow of phosphates and silicates from the Nile. Mediterranean catches have dropped by almost half since the dam. Cases of schistosomiasis have become more frequent, since a large amount of algae in Lake Nasser contributes to the proliferation of snails that carry this disease.

Aswan Dam tends to increase salinity Mediterranean Sea, and thus affecting the flow from the Mediterranean to Atlantic Ocean(see Strait of Gibraltar). This flow can be traced for thousands of kilometers in the Atlantic. Some people believe [ Who?] that this dam influence accelerates the processes that will lead to the next ice age.

At the end of the 1990s. Lake Nasser began to expand to the west and flood the Toshka lowland. To prevent this phenomenon, the Toshka Canal was built, allowing part of the Nile waters to be diverted to the western regions of the country.

When it comes to the Aswan Dam, in most cases we mean the upper dam on the Nile River, located near the city of Aswan. Although in fact there are two dams in this area. These dams control the Egyptian portion of the Nile River and are also the base for the Aswan Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP), which generates electricity for the Egyptian population. Since its construction in 1960, the Aswan Dam has been the subject of controversy. There are fears that the dam is causing irreparable damage to the environment, and opponents of the construction want to end its existence, even though the destruction of the dam would have dire consequences for Egypt.

The first dam, known as the Lower Aswan Dam, was built by the British in the late 19th century and was strengthened several times thereafter. The dam was built to control the flood power of the Nile River. For centuries, Egyptians lived along the banks of the Nile, farming and using the river's floodwaters to irrigate and fertilize their lands. As the population grew, unpredictable floods became a problem, resulting in the destruction of homes and loss of life. To control floods and avoid floods, the British authorities decided to build a dam.

The first Aswan Dam failed, and in the 1950s, several countries, including the United States, agreed to help the people of Egypt and build a new dam upstream. But later the countries that had agreed abandoned their promise, persuading the Egyptian authorities to turn to the USSR for help, and only after that the construction of the upper Aswan Dam began.

As a result of the construction of the dam, the areas located upstream faced massive flooding of land, forced relocation of people and significant damage to some invaluable archaeological sites and excavations. The lake formed in front of the dam was given the name “Nasser”, in honor of the second president of Egypt. The Egyptians understood that flooded areas were a price to pay for the ability to control annual floods and constant provision hydroelectric power.

Over the years, Egypt has faced several problems as a result of the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Due to the accumulation of river silt in front of the dam throughput Lake Nasser is shrinking, and the absence of sufficient quantities silt in the waters after the dam forces farmers living on those lands to use artificial chemical fertilizers. Constant flow The rivers and the lack of fresh silt inflow cause channel erosion and greatly erode the banks of the Nile, and the reproduction of river life in the river delta has been greatly reduced. Also associated with the appearance of the Upper Aswan Dam are the observed signs of an increase in salt concentration in the Mediterranean Sea, which in turn affects fisheries.