Phase 0 of the Codo Codo watershed protection is 86% complete, and the Government is already planning two new jobs

AND a stone dam like a kind of wall that stretches for a length of 2,600 meters is 1.2 kilometers away from the water intake of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant, in the canton of El Chaco in the province of Orellana. This wall was one of the first preliminary constructions carried out by the Executive Commission of the Río Coca to allow the start of works that want to slow down the progress of regressive erosion that threatens precisely the huge hydroelectric plant that produces 30% of the country’s electricity.

Now, in a place protected by a dike, dozens of workers are carrying out welding work and it is possible to see the uncovered part of the 279 piles – 1.20 m in diameter and 29 meters deep – which are already underground and whose goal is to prevent further soil erosion where the river passes. This set of pilings, built by the company Accyem, is the last physical barrier to stop the regressive erosion of the river before it reaches the catchment, the first to slightly slow down the river’s speed. This is phase zero, which is already 86% advanced, costing $14 million and will be completed in April.

This is how the technicians explained it Río Coca Executive Commission Minister of Energy Fernando Santos; Secretary of the Public-Private Alliance Roberto Salas; Deputy Minister of Hydrocarbons, Rubén Espín; President of EMCO, Joaquín Ponce; Among others, Celec’s manager Gonzalo Uquillas. They visited the works this Thursday, March 23.

In addition, the Río Coca Executive Commission, chaired by Roque Proaño, It is already preparing a new tender in order to be able to build at least two more facilities that would allow the river not to affect the basin, at least for the life of Coca Codo Sinclair, so about 50 years.

These two works are: dressing, 200 meters long in the stands, with an approximate price of 90 million dollars and one permeable dam which is a bridge embankment, which will cost about 20 million dollars more (located at kilometer 8 downstream of the watershed). That is, the total price of works of phases 0, 1 and 2 would reach 124 million dollars.

Proaño clarified that phase 1, which previously consisted of the construction of rigid screens (recommended by Lombardi), will no longer be implemented. He explained that thanks to the cooperation of the US Army Corps of Engineers, some models to find out its effectiveness. However, the results were not encouraging. and it was concluded that it is necessary to make a series of changes that would ultimately mean an increase in the budget. For this reason, a more conventional alternative was devised, which is the construction of a spillway or a series of steps so that the water falls in a controlled manner.

According to Roque Proaño, there are studies that show that if nothing is done, this regressive erosion could reach the basin in five years, counting from February 2020, when the first sign of regressive erosion was given: the collapse of the San Rafael Falls.

In the meantime, Gonzalo Uquillas emphasized that studies have already been carried out and that the phenomenon of regressive erosion has nothing to do with the construction of Coca Codo Sinclair, but it is a natural phenomenon. In any case, Celec had to face these works, despite the fact that the state has not yet formally received the property of Coca Codo Sinclair, because it is the responsibility to protect this property, which is the main producer of electricity in the country.

Minister Fernando Santos, for his part, He summarized the problem by stating that it was a poorly done job, which had to be remedied. He explained that this is why assistance was requested from the US, from various agencies, including the Army Corps of Engineers and the Claims Bureau. For Santos, this deed should never have been done, but he believes it should be protected.

The problem of the watershed is not the only one that threatens the dam, but downstream, in the engine room, problems have already arisen due to dragged sediment.