Bridging the gap on the road to the Dahla Dam

By Major Vance White

In June, the Government announced three signature projects. The largest project, both in size and scope, is the Arghandab Irrigation Rehabilitation Project, more commonly known as the Dahla Dam Project. There has been $50M allocated over three years to complete the project.

The Dahla Dam and irrigation system, located in the heart of the province of Kandahar, is Afghanistan’s second largest dam. Eighty percent of Kandahar’s population (approximately one million people) lives along the irrigation system. The dam was built in the 1950s, but years of disrepair have left the dam and irrigation system functioning at reduced capacity.

“Studies show that as much as 60 percent of the water supply from the reservoir is wasted because the flow of water can not currently be effectively controlled, “ explained Marius Oancea, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) project manager at the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team (KPRT). “Also, over the decades, sediment in this very dusty climate has collected in the bottom of the reservoir, this has further reduced the capacity of the reservoir.” It has been estimated that the silting has reduced the reservoir capacity by up to 30 percent.

These combined factors have limited the amount of water available to farmers throughout the province, further limiting the types of crops that can be grown.

So where are we now—what is the status?

For those DIY-ers, you’ll likely often find that some projects aren’t as easy as they might first seem. If you want to put in a new electrical outlet in your house, it’s not just a matter of putting a box in the wall; you have a number of steps to complete before you get the current flowing: possibly add a new breaker in the panel, run the wire, cut the hole in the wall, install the box and outlet, and repaint the wall.

It is not dissimilar for the irrigation project. Rehabilitating the dam is obviously a large component of the project, but before that can be done there are some steps that need to be completed to allow the work on the dam to go ahead.

Over the summer, final site assessments were completed and design work was carried out for the initial construction requirements. The paperwork was completed in early September when the first contract was awarded. This contract is for step one: to replace the rickety, one-lane, I-beam suspension bridge that crosses a spillway.

“Before the dam can be worked on, the current bridge needs to be replaced with one that can support the weight and physical size of the heavy equipment needed to do the dam repairs,” said Sergeant Brian Highfield, the KPRT’s Specialist Engineering Team (SET) project manager for the bridge construction. “I’m very happy with the progress since our last visit to the site—the construction company has started to pour the new abutments.”

The completion of the new 21-metre long, four-metre wide, reinforced-concrete girder bridge is expected by the end of December.

Step two — increasing the capacity of the road itself to handle large vehicles and heavy loads — is starting as well. The contract for the six km of road improvements has been awarded and construction will start before the end of November. The road improvements — widening and paving — will allow for easier access to the relatively remote dam site, and should be completed in the spring.

The bridge project alone, valued at approximately $330,000 (Canadian), will provide employment for up to 50 people over the duration of the work. When the bridge and the road are completed, the big step of rehabilitating the dam, and the irrigation works downstream will begin in earnest.

“The bigger project for the dam and irrigation system will include replacing the micro turbine and generator that services the dam and the adjacent camp; repairing water valves to improve the control of water flow; fixing gates to control the flow of water from the Arghandab River into the canal system; and repairing the canals,” explained Oancea, who has been steering the overall project since its inception.

But the project doesn’t simply end at reconstruction. There is also a plan for sustainibility of the dam and the irrigation works as a whole. CIDA officials, working with their Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan counterparts and the Canadian Executing Agency, will help establish the Arghandab Sub-basin water management body, which will take the lead in managing the area’s water system in consultation with local stakeholders; and training farmers in water management and new crop production techniques.

In the end, the repair of the Dahla Dam and its irrigation system will provide a secure irrigation water supply to the majority of the Kandahari population; generate 10,000 seasonal jobs; and foster agriculture by providing farmers with irrigated land.

Maj Vance White is the Public Affairs Officer with the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team.