La Plataforma de Afectados por el Río Aguas Blancas intends to sue the Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir (CHG) over the damages caused after the dam opened its floodgates.

Quentar Reservoir virtually full to the brim (98%) and still rising on the 4th of February took the precautionary measure of releasing water downstream; originally programmed to be at a rate of 3-cu/m per second.

However, by the morning of the 30th, it rose to 10-cu/m per sec and then by midday to 15-cu/m per sec. Then with the arrival of another wet front, they decided to release a third of the dam’s content (3,9-cu/hec, which was nearing third of the reservoir’s capacity) at 102-cu/m per sec.

However, this collective of affected landowners is not taking this water authority to court because of this action, but rather for an alleged lack of maintenance both of the reservoir, as well as the riverbed downstream; i.e., keeping it clear of accumulating vegetation, etc.

In the case of the maintenance of the dam structure, the contract for changing the valve systems & electromechanical devices within the dam has still not been awarded despite the job being announced in 2020. As for the downstream riverbed, farmers claim that it hasn’t been cleared out in the last 40 years.

Those two reasons, the farmers claim (140 of them belong to the platform) was why the river burst its banks when the dam released excess water.

Furthermore, they consider that the water authority, which comes under the Ministerio de Transición Ecológica took too long on the decision to release water and should have taken action on this when it was less full, giving the dam technicians more wiggle room for when the two wet fronts, Kristin and Leonardo arrived. 

Affected locals from the municipalities of Quéntar, Dúdar and Pinos Genil met with the Town Hall on the 17th of March on what compensation is needed but pending the final calculations by experts, the sum is thought to be around 140,000 euros.

(News: Quentar, Vega, Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: Flood Damage Claim, Quentar Reservoir, Water Released, Wet Fronts, Downstream Damage

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