Sept. 2011

$4,987,500

Status Unknown

Helmand

RC-SouthWest

Project Description

No project description provided.

Project Goals

The project will repair or replace various components of the Irrigation Tunnel Intake Structure, which act to protect the irrigation outlet from debris and provide an upstream closure for inspection, maintenance and repair of the downstream components of the irrigation system. It will also include the repair or replacement of the penstock filling valve. 

 

This project is authorized under the Agriculture Irrigation line item in the Money as a Weapons System Afghanistan (MAAWS-A) Guidance of February 2011.

 

The Kajaki Dam, is located on the Helmand River approximately 90 kilometers northwest of Kandahar City. The dam serves a multi-purpose role in supplying the irrigation storage, hydropower, and flood control for the Helmand River Valley. The Kajaki Dam is an integral part of a larger irrigation scheme in Helmand and Kandahar Provinces.

 

The intake tower located at the entrance of the irrigation tunnel, provides debris protection and maintenance closure for the Kajaki Dam irrigation outlet works. The intake structure consists of a reinforced concrete maintenance bulkhead gate and a steel roller gate, both non-functioning and stuck in the fully open position allowing free flow of water into the tunnel. Due to the inoperability of the intake structure it is impossible to inspect, maintain or repair any downstream emergency valves or the downstream penstock filling valve. 

 

The downstream penstock filling valve, emergency valves and regulating valves are in poor condition and cannot be serviced. Should they fail in an open position, the reservoir could drain freely into the Helmand Valley. This would result in a major loss of the benefits the project currently provides and the economy of Southern Afghanistan has come to rely upon. Alternately, should they fail in a closed position, there would be no way to drain the reservoir to make space for a major inflow event, which could cause overtopping and catastrophic failure of the dam embankment.

 

The repair of the irrigation intake tower components is essential to the longevity of the irrigation system. Without immediate repairs to the maintenance gate system substantial risk exist for loss of the reservoir pool, eliminating the ability to control water flow for irrigation. 

 

The penstock filling valve is in a state of incipient failure and cannot be serviced until the intake tower components are repaired. Should this manually operated valve fail during operation it could severely injure or kill the operators, and would flood the access passage to this valve, the emergency valves, and the gate control room.

Results

Results unknown.

Updates

1/30/2013- USACE awarded contract.

Received 448-2 back from USACE on 27 July 2011. They will now be soliciting bids in the near future for this project. Anticipated start date has been delayed to 15 Sep 2011.