Reservoirs in the South present a depressing panorama

SANTO DOMINGO. The country depends on a little more than one third part of its useful dammed volume, 38.71%. This is a situation that is getting worse in the South, where the dam at Sabana Yegua, in Azua is at 0.5% of its useful capacity and is currently useless for generating electricity. The level of the dam is at 19.71 million m³, but the zero level is at 19.5 million m³, according to the most recent Weekly Hydrological Bulletin by the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INDRHI).

The dam at Sabaneta, in San Juan de la Maguana, was at 21.2% of its useful volume, which means nearly a fifth of its installed capacity.

The Jigüey and Valdesia, reservoirs on the Nizao River, in the province of Peravia, are at 31.9% and 39.5% of their capacity.

The situation has forced INDRHI to reduce the days of irrigation in the provinces of Azua, Barahona, Neiba and Bahoruco for the last week.

In the Cibao region the water level at the Monsion dam is at 25.7% with a tendency to be lower according to what INDRHI revealed. There is also a tendency for the water levels to go down at the Tavera and Bao dams currently at 53.3%.

The Rincon dam, in Jima is at 87.2% of its capacity and Hatillo in Maimon is at 86.6%. Regarding rains, last Tuesday the Department of Hydrology of INDRHI registered zero rains in 38 stations near to watersheds.