The Salvajina Dam and hydroelectric plant

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

 are located in the Cauca River

Cauca River

The Cauca River is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. Born in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Pinillos in Bolívar Department, and the combined river eventually flows out into the Caribbean Sea. It has a...

, corregimiento Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, Cauca

Buenos Aires is a town and municipality in the Cauca Department, Colombia. Founded in by Vasco de Guzmán and Alonso de Fuenmayor in 1551, the municipality covers an area and has a population of 21,300. The population is primarily engaged in agriculture and ranching.-References:...

, municipality Suarez, department Cauca

Suarez, Cauca

Suarez is a town and municipality in the Cauca Department, Colombia.In October 2007 a gold mine near the town collapsed, killing at least 24 people.-References:...

 in the southwest of Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. Its reservoir

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

 has a length of 31 kilometres.

The dam was finished in September 1985 and has a power station with a 270 MW installed capacity. The purpose of the dam is flood control, electricity production, and the maintenance of a low level of contamination

Water pollution

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....

 in the zone of extraction of drinking water

Drinking water

Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...

 for the city of Cali

Calì

Calì, also written in English as Cali, is an Italian surname, widespread mainly in the Ionian side of Sicily.For the surname Calì is assumed the origin of the Greek word kalos , or from its Sanskrit root kali, "time."The surname refers to:...

.

Operators and owners

The regulation of water-quantities released with respect to the prevention of floods is managed by the Corporación autónoma regional del Valle del Cauca, CVC, which in case of disagreement has priority of decision. EPSA (Empresa de energía del Pacífico) has owned and operated the dam since shared by Colener S.A.S., Inversiones Argos S.A. y Banco de Inversión Bancolombia S.A

Design

The dam is a 148 m (486 ft) tall and 400 m (1,312 ft) long concrete-face rock-fill embankment dam

Embankment dam

An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...

. Its reservoir has a capacity of 764700000 cubic metre, while 695700000 cubic metre is active (or "useful") and 69000000 cubic metre is inactive space. The reservoir is 26 km (16 mi) long and lies at a normal elevation of 1155 m (3,789 ft) above sea level.
An intake tower conducts the water towards three 90 MW Francis turbine

Francis turbine

The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine that was developed by James B. Francis in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts....

s which combine for a 270 MW installed capacity. Each turbine has a maximum discharge of 116.5 m3/s for a total power plant discharge of 349.5 m3/s. The dam was designed by Ingetec S.A.

Criticism

There exist various accusations of national and international NGO´s which mention violations of human rights as well as ecological debt in relation to the construction and management of the dam Salvajina. There are various sources mentioning displacement of the population that lived in the zone of the reservoir which range from 3,000 to 6,000. people, According to Biodiversidad en América Latina y El Caribe, people evicted from the reservoir were not properly compesated.
According to the Tribunal Permanente de los Pueblos, the Colombian military and illegal paramilitary forces were used in order to displace the population. and the Campaña Prohibido Olvidar cites that protesters were harassed. A lawyer who accompanied the protestors, Oscar Elías López, was shot dead in a café in Cali.

Literature

• Corporación Autónoma Regiónal del Valle del Cauca, CVC: Proyecto de Modelación del Río Cauca, Chapter 3.