NewsWhore
07-13-2011, 03:40 PM
In Tamayo, one of the poorest towns in the "deep South" of the Dominican Republic, the Trujillo Canal funnels water to thirsty lands. Years after the canal had been damaged, the repairs were about to be inaugurated and once again the South Yaque River flooded over its banks and broke the gabions and damaged four of the water gates. The necessary repairs were estimated at RD$145 million according to the El Caribe. Newspapers back in April were celebrating the near completion of the work on the canal, but the joy experienced by farmers who need the irrigation waters was short-lived. In May, the rains swelled the river and it crashed against the restraining dike of gabions (large wire baskets filled with rocks) and created gaps in the dike, ending streams of water to Mena, Fundacion, Cristobal and Salina where more wetlands are being created next to the overflowing Lake Enriquillo. (Note: In yesterday's DR1 News, it was reported that the 143,000 tareas flooded by the lake were equal to more than 5.6 million hectares, an absurd number. Due to a purely involuntary mathematical error, the true figure is 8,993.7 hectares of land invaded by the rising waters of the lake. We thank the attentive readership which called our attention to this and apologize for the mistake.)
In addition to the damage done by the river, improper handling of the large water gates by one of the watchmen caused further damages to four of the gates that are supposed to control the flow of water in the canal. Combined with the cracks in the concrete caused by the river flooding and the spaces in the gabions, the damage to the water gates adds to the worry of farmers in the area.
The Trujillo Canal was built in 1954 during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo Molina. The project has two aims and was conceived with the development of the area in mind. The canal was to allow farmers in the provinces of Bahoruco and Independencia to use irrigation for their crops and to avoid flooding the area near Barahona.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)
In addition to the damage done by the river, improper handling of the large water gates by one of the watchmen caused further damages to four of the gates that are supposed to control the flow of water in the canal. Combined with the cracks in the concrete caused by the river flooding and the spaces in the gabions, the damage to the water gates adds to the worry of farmers in the area.
The Trujillo Canal was built in 1954 during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo Molina. The project has two aims and was conceived with the development of the area in mind. The canal was to allow farmers in the provinces of Bahoruco and Independencia to use irrigation for their crops and to avoid flooding the area near Barahona.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)