The Comunidad de Regantes del Bajo Guadalfeo complained on Wednesday that the dam has been letting past more water than usual, despite the fact that Rules is not full to capacity.
Yes, a certain amount has to be flushed down the riverbed by law to maintain the river’s biodiversity, but according to the irrigation association, a larger amount than usual is being let go down stream.
In response, the Board of Agriculture said that what is happening is routine, which is why it was not necessary to inform anybody; the irrigation community had complained that they had only found out about it via the press.
“We’ve gone from releasing two cubic/metres per second to five cubic/metres per second, which is absolutely normal and not a great quantity,” said the Agricultural Board.
However, the Chairman of the Comunidad de Regantes, Maximino Prados, says that this stored-water release is just another episode in a long list of “being ignored and abused by the institutions.” He also complains that the decision was taken arbitrarily despite the established water-release rate.
The Agricultural Board admitted that the Dirección General de Carreteras del Estado (highways authority) had requested that the water level does not increase (despite the snow melt) so that it doesn’t reach the worksite under the bridge, otherwise road traffic across the bridge would have to be stopped.
The Board aso said that the Manager of Rules Dam adopted this measure and was under no obligation to inform anybody. Furthermore, the Board of Agriculture said that the reservoir stands at 90% of its capacity and therefore that there was plenty of water for the next couple of years.
(News: Velez de Benaudalla, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)
Keywords: Embalse de Rules, Water Level, Stored-Water Release, Comunidad de Regantes, Bridge, Works, Road Authorities, Autovía, A-44
news, andalucia, granada, costa tropical, velez de benaudalla, embalse de rules, water level, stored-water release, comunidad de regantes, bridge, works, road authorities, autovía, a-44