The Jiangpinghe Dam is an under construction concrete face rock-fill embankment dam

Embankment dam

An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...

 on the Loushui River

Loushui River

The Loushui River is the main tributary of the Lishui River in China with much of its basin situated in Hubei Province. It is interrupted by the Jiangpinghe Dam....

 near Zouma in Hefeng County

Hefeng County

Hefeng County is a county of Hubei, China. It is under the administration of the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture....

 in Hubei Province, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. The purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation, flood control and irrigation. The dam will house a hydroelectric power station with 2 x 250 MW generators for a total installed capacity of 500 MW. Its expected generation of 1005 GWh will be transferred to the Central China Power Grid. Construction on the dam began in 2005 and it was expected to be completed in 2011. When complete, the dam will be 221 metres (725 ft) tall, withholding a 1366000000 cubic metre reservoir of which 787000000 cubic metre is active or "useful" storage.