AFTER days of speculation, the Montejaque ‘ghost dam’ has finally begun releasing water through its spillways after reaching maximum capacity following another spell of heavy rainfall.
Residents across the Serrania de Ronda have been on tenterhooks over the past week as torrential storms pushed the century-old dam to breaking point, fuelling fears that millions of litres of rain could gush into the valley below.
The water level was just 25cm from the top on Thursday afternoon and finally reached capacity this morning after Storm Oriana unleashed more rainfall overnight.
According to the regional government, water is flowing out of the dam at a rate of around 200 cubic metres per second.
The mayor of nearby Jimera de Libar, Francisco Javier Lobo, said: “The dam is now releasing water through the upper spillway, which shows that the siphons and the mechanism – not tested for more than a century – are working correctly.
“We are closely monitoring the evolution of the Guadiaro riverbed. In any case, we remain reassured that preventive work has been carried out and there is no risk to the population.”
Over the past week, hundreds of residents in nearby villages including Estacion de Benaojan have been evacuated amid fears the dam could burst its banks.
Built in the 1920s on porous rock, the dam was deemed a massive engineering failure because it could never hold water, which always leaked away through the massive Hundidero-Gato cave system.
However, the torrential rains from over four weeks of storms have completely saturated the caves, causing the ‘ghost dam’ to fill to its limit for the first time in history.
Technicians from Endesa plus officials from the environmental ministry, the Military Emergency Unit (UME) and Guardia Civil have been spotted working away near the site in recent days.
Politicians are seeking to reassure the public that today’s overflow is controlled and proof that infrastructure built over a century ago works perfectly well.
Patricia Navarro, president of the conservative Partido Popular (PP) in Malaga, said video footage of water flowing out of the dam was evidence that the siphon mechanisms were ‘doing their job’.
She added: “The ‘failed dam’ in Montejaque is working, to the surprise of some.
“Downstream, the families who could be affected by the eventual flooding of the Guadiaro have been evacuated for days and are not in danger.
“I think we can be satisfied with a meticulous job in which dozens of professionals have been involved.”
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