Construction of Vaca Dam almost complete
The VACA Dam, located on the Macal River in Benque Viejo is BECOL’s furthest dam downstream. The hydro-electric facility is in its third of four construction phases and is a project which BECOL, through investments from its parent company Fortis Incorporated, began in 2008. If all goes as planned, by January of 2010, VACA should be fully operational and complement both Chalillo and Mollejon. Marion Ali toured the facility on Thursday and has this report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
The Vaca dam will be a nineteen megawatt facility, expected to increase BECOL’s national capacity to fifty megawatts. This converts to seventy percent of the country’s energy supply, which BECOL sells to its sister company, B.E.L., who then supplies the country with power. But in addition to meeting the growing demands, the Vaca Dam is also expected to help control floods.
Stephen Usher, Operations Vice President, BECOL
“It has an unregulated overflow spillway which the span is wider than Mollejon but at this stage we can also give more concrete information to any downstream residents because this project is closer to the first resort on the Macal River; I think it’s Black Rock.”
But while Vaca can alleviate flooding in communities downstream, if disaster should occur, the effects could be deadly. But the project is described to be sound and it includes an early warning system in San Ignacio, Santa Elena and surrounding communities to avoid a catastrophe.
Stephen Usher
“This system is being tested as we speak and the purpose of that system is for in the event of a dam break we could advise residents downstream of the dam break coming and we could advise them to get to higher grounds.”
Marion Ali
“And what would be the implications if that should happen, if there should be a breach of the dam?”
Stephen Usher
“High flood waters but I must reiterate that the early warning system is there for a dam break. We did a flood simulation study, which included three phases. One was a dam break under natural conditions meaning that if the reservoir was at full supply level and the dam broke. Then we did a simulation with a PMF, a Probable Maximum Flood. It’s the highest calculated flood that the Macal River would see, then we did a dam break and a PMF together. Of these three scenarios, the most catastrophic would be the PMF.”
BECOL’s Vice President of Operations, Stephen Usher, says the project was necessary because without Vaca, Belize would be more dependent on other sources for energy supply.
Stephen Usher
“Without Vaca or without a renewable energy source, this would mean that B.E.L. would probably need to seek an alternate source either from fossil fuel or from Mexico which is fossil fuel as well. But the objective is not only to get an outside source, but its to build our in-house source.”
But while producing more energy for the country is good news, what about the environmental impact of the project?
Stephen Usher
“We cleared the entire reservoir impoundment area. Behind us this stretches five kilometres to Mollejon. So if you want to look at an environmental impact, that’s one area that we cleared. But we did that to control the mercury levels in the river because mercury normally forms from decaying vegetation in the reservoir. So we shouldn’t see that problem with Vaca. The only other environmental concern would be the noise pollution, which would affect the only other resort right now is Chichen Ha and probably some of the aquatic life.”
To ensure that the project does not violate the Environmental Compliance Plan, the Department of the Environment makes random visits to the site to do inspections. Meanwhile, Friends for Conservation and Development has been contracted to conduct a wildlife study of the project’s impact. Reporting for News Five, Marion Ali.
When completed the dam’s peak will stand two hundred feet over the riverbed. The project is being carried out at a cost of one hundred and six million dollars. Contractor is Sinohydro of China.
