HOLY SUNDAY. – The National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INDRHI) reported that together with the Dam and Reservoir Operation Committee (COPRE) it remains vigilant over the behavior of the pMonción Resa, which reached its discharge level last Sunday, December 22, due to the effect of a trough and a frontal system that affect the country, and the behavior of precipitation and runoff in recent months.
He indicated that due to the contributions of precipitation generated by both phenomena, the dam is laminating, fulfilling its function of cushioning floods, without at the moment putting at risk the localities located downstream of the hydraulic infrastructure, located in the Santiago Rodríguez province.
The agency said that they also maintain monitoring of the Monción counter-reservoir and the Tavera dam, in the Santiago province, to be able to make timely operational decisions in relation to a possible increase in flows in the Mao and Yaque del Norte rivers and an eventual need prevention or warning.
The dam report of this December 24 indicates that the Monción reservoir is located at a level of 280.12 meters above sea level (masl), with a volume of 331.39 million cubic meters (m3) and an output of 61.91 m3 towards the bed of the Mao River, a tributary of the Yaque del Norte River.
The agency reported that this dam has one of the largest reservoirs in the country, with a capacity of 360.85 million m3 and a maximum level of 280 meters above sea level, so this is one of the few occasions in which it has reached the level of discharged, which results in favorable news since this accumulated water will guarantee the supply to the different users during the years 2025 and 2026, if little rainfall occurs.
The INDRHI recalled that the first spill from the dam took place in 2003, while the others occurred in 2005 and 2017. That last year it reached the maximum historical level when it reached a level of 281.75 meters above sea level, after passing through the country of Hurricane Irma.
About the Monción dam
The Monción dam is built on the Mao River, near the municipality of Monción. It was inaugurated in 2001. It is an earth fill dam 122 meters high. Its operation under normal conditions consists of extracting approximately 3.0 m3/s to feed by gravity the Northwest Line Aqueduct and turbine in the hydroelectric plant about 8.0 hours/day with a discharge of up to 45.0 m3/s.
During the cyclonic season, the level of its reservoir is controlled with the aim of mitigating the effects of flooding in downstream towns. The turbined water is discharged into its counter-reservoir, from where 14 m3/s are finally derived towards the Mao – Gurabo and Luis Bogaert irrigation canals.
