THIS is the historic moment the Montejaque ‘ghost dam’ finally reached 100 per cent capacity and sent thousands of litres of water gushing into the Guadiaro valley below.
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.
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