Aswan Low Dam

Aswan Low Dam
Aswan Low Dam
Official name	Aswan Low Dam
Location	Egypt
Coordinates	24°02′02″N 32°51′57″E / 24.03389°N 32.86583°E / 24.03389; 32.86583
Construction began	1899
Opening date	1902
Owner(s)	Egypt
Operator(s)	Egypt
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Gravity, masonry buttress
Impounds	River Nile
Height	36 m (118 ft)
Length	1,950 m (6,400 ft)
Spillway type	Floodgates
Reservoir
Creates	tailwater of Lake Nasser
Total capacity	5,300×10^6 m3 (4,300,000 acre⋅ft)
Power Station
Commission date	Aswan I:1960 Aswan II:1980-85
Turbines	Aswan I: 7 x 40 MW (54,000 hp) Kaplan-type Aswan II: 4 x 67.5 MW (90,500 hp) Kaplan-type
Installed capacity	592 MW (794,000 hp) (Aswan I, II)

The Aswan Low Dam or Old Aswan Dam is a gravity masonry buttress dam on the Nile River in Aswan, Egypt. The dam was built by the British at the former first cataract of the Nile, and is located about 1000 km up-river and 690 km (direct distance) south-southeast of Cairo. When initially constructed between 1899 and 1902, nothing of its scale had ever been attempted; on completion, it was the largest masonry dam in the world. The dam was designed to provide storage of annual floodwater and augment dry season flows to support greater irrigation development^[1] and population growth in the lower Nile. The dam, originally limited in height by conservation concerns, worked as designed, but provided inadequate storage capacity for planned development and was raised twice: between 1907 and 1912 and again between 1929 and 1933. These heightenings still did not meet irrigation demands and in 1946 it was nearly over-topped in an effort to maximize pool elevation. This led to the investigation and construction of the Aswan High Dam 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) upstream.^[2]