Chalillo reservoir fills, prevents Cayo flooding

There may not be much in the way of good news to report in relation to our most recent natural disaster but there is one positive development that should not go unreported. That is the role played by the Chalillo Dam. It will be recalled that the low dry season water levels in the reservoir behind the dam were forcing B.E.L. to purchase more high priced electricity from Mexico. With the recent rains, however, the reservoir has risen seven meters over the last four days and according to engineers at BECOL, there are still another six or seven meters left to go before reaching maximum capacity. This means that more water can be released to generate cheaper electricity. More importantly, the fact that most of the torrential rains were kept accumulating behind the dam meant that the Macal River did not experience the massive flooding that struck waterways to the north and south. It will be recalled that in 1995, before the construction of Chalillo, San Ignacio and Santa Elena were inundated by the Macal’s floodwaters causing extensive damage both in the twin towns and downstream. One BECOL official told News Five that had Chalillo not been in place, the flooding would have been worse than in ‘95 because at that time the Mopan River was not in flood, thus allowing the Macal to flow swiftly toward Belize City. In the latest disaster the Mopan has been in full flood, which forces the waters of the Macal to back up at Branch Mouth and rise even faster upstream.