The Baath Dam is a dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 on the Euphrates

Euphrates

The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...

, located 22 kilometres (13.7 mi) upstream from the city of Ar-Raqqah in Ar-Raqqah Governorate, Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

. Construction of the dam started in 1983 and was finished in 1986. It is intended to generate hydroelectric power

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

 as well as regulate the irregular flow from the Tabqa Dam, which is located 18 kilometres (11.2 mi) upstream from the Baath Dam. These irregularities in the flow from the Tabqa Dam are caused by changes in the electricity demand. The Baath Dam is 14 metres (45.9 ft) high and the installed water turbine

Water turbine

A water turbine is a rotary engine that takes energy from moving water.Water turbines were developed in the 19th century and were widely used for industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now they are mostly used for electric power generation. They harness a clean and renewable energy...

s can generate 81 MW. The storage capacity of the Baath Dam Reservoir is 0.09 cubic kilometre (0.0215921482743858 cu mi).

The Baath Dam is one of three dams in the Syrian Euphrates, the other two being the Tabqa Dam, and the Tishrin Dam

Tishrin Dam

The Tishrin Dam is a dam on the Euphrates, located east of Aleppo in Aleppo Governorate, Syria. The dam is high and has 6 water turbines capable of producing 630 MW. Construction lasted between 1991 and 1999...

 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) south of the Syro-Turkish

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 border. Like the Baath Dam, the Tishrin Dam is also functionally related to the Tabqa Dam. Construction of the Tishrin Dam was partly motivated by the disappointing performance of the hydroelectric power station in the Tabqa Dam. Syria now plans to construct a fourth dam – the Halabiye Dam

Halabiye Dam

The Halabiye Dam is a proposed dam on the Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria. It will be the fourth and most southern dam on the Syrian Euphrates, after the Tishrin Dam, the Tabqa Dam and the Baath Dam...

– in the Euphrates, downstream from the Baath Dam.