Hydro hopes rain will fill Macal, spin turbines

Although the nation’s coast got a good soaking this morning not everyone in Belize had to run for their rubber boots. The area around the critical Mollejon Hydro Plant received almost an inch of rain over the last three days but the water flow in the Macal River has picked up only slightly and the power generating turbines are still turning at only a tiny fraction of capacity. BECOL personnel told News Five that satellite photos show rain in the upper Macal watershed and while much of that initial precipitation has been absorbed into the parched soil, the expectation is that the river will soon return to its regular size and the Mollejon Plant will once again be providing the bulk of the power to B.E.L.’s expanding national grid.