The Salvajina Dam and

hydroelectric plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also mo ...

are located in the

Cauca River The Cauca River () is a river in Colombia that lies between the Occidental and Central cordilleras. From its headwaters in southwestern Colombia near the city of Popayán, it joins the Magdalena River near Magangué in Bolívar Department, an ...

, corregimiento Buenos Aires, municipality Suarez, department Cauca in the southwest of

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. Its

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

has a length of . The dam was finished in September 1985 and has a power station with a installed capacity. The purpose of the dam is flood control, electricity production, and

drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

supply for the city of

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

Operators and owners

The regulation of water-quantities released with respect to the prevention of floods is managed by the Corporación autónoma regional del Valle del Cauca, CVC, which in case of disagreement has priority of decision. EPSA (Empresa de energía del Pacífico) has owned and operated the dam since shared by Colener S.A.S., Inversiones Argos S.A. y Banco de Inversión Bancolombia S.A

Design

The dam is a tall and long concrete-face rock-fill

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface ...

. Its reservoir has a capacity of , while is active and is inactive space. The reservoir is long and lies at a normal elevation of above sea level. An

intake tower An intake tower or outlet tower is a vertical tubular structure with one or more openings used for capturing water from reservoirs and conveying it further to a hydroelectric or water-treatment plant. Unlike spillways, intake towers are intended ...

conducts the water towards three

Francis turbine The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency. The pro ...

s which combine for a 270 MW installed capacity. Each turbine has a maximum discharge of for a total power plant discharge of . The dam was designed by Ingetec S.A.

Criticism

There exist various accusations of national and international NGO's which mention violations of human rights as well as

ecological debt Ecological debt refers to the accumulated debt seen by some campaigners as owed by the Global North and Global South, Global North to Global North and Global South#Uses of the term Global South, Global South countries, due to the net sum of histo ...

in relation to the construction and management of the dam Salvajina. There are various sources mentioning displacement of the population that lived in the zone of the reservoir which range from 3,000 to 6,000. people, According to Biodiversidad en América Latina y El Caribe, people evicted from the reservoir were not properly compensated. According to the Tribunal Permanente de los Pueblos, the Colombian military and illegal paramilitary forces were used in order to displace the population. and the Campaña Prohibido Olvidar cites that protesters were harassed. A lawyer who accompanied the protestors, Oscar Elías López, was shot dead in a café in Cali.

References

Literature

* Corporación Autónoma Regiónal del Valle del Cauca, CVC: ''Proyecto de Modelación del Río Cauca, Chapter 3.'' {{stack, {{Portal, Colombia, Water, Renewable energy Dams completed in 1985 Energy infrastructure completed in 1985 Dams in Colombia Hydroelectric power stations in Colombia Concrete-face rock-fill dams Buildings and structures in Cauca Department