Saddam Husein wanted to build a big dam and didn't really care that he built it on easily dissolvable gypsum. Since then the dam has required constant maintenance to keep it viable. But a brief takeover by ISIL scared away all the maintenance men, the current government hasn't done much since then, and the source of the grout used to fill up holes is still in ISIL hands anyway. The dam may not be savable at this point, and if it fails (most likely early spring when water levels are highest) it will send a massive wall of water towards millions of people's homes and right over hundreds of miles of farmland that border the river. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/11/w...do-what-isis-didnt-breach-iraqi-dam.html?_r=0
The Italian engineering firm Seli was able to get to it in time and did stabilization work on it for a year. Now it is being maintained by the Iraqis with support from the US Corp of Engineers. The immediate danger is no longer there, but it will never not need constant repairing of holes created by dissolving rock around the foundation of the dam.