Mauro Aguilar
06/26/2021 4:48 PM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 06/26/2021 11:32 PM
The coast of Rosario exhibits an unusual landscape.
The historical downspout of the Paraná River, one of the worst according to the records of the National Water Institute (INA),
widens the coast
, punishes sections of the ravine that crumble in the region,
exposes the sailboats on the mud
and extends the drought on the islands of the delta, which causes obvious damage to the biodiversity of the place and the environment.
On Saturday 0.11 centimeters were recorded, at least about
three meters below
what it usually reaches for this time.
The lack of rain in the upper basin, according to specialists, could
complicate the situation even more in the coming months
.
Rainfall is expected to help reverse the outlook, in part, only for September.
July, they estimate, could be
particularly critical
.
According to the INA, the flow of water that enters the Paraná in the Argentine section is
barely 40%
of the value that was averaged in the months of June of the last 25 years.
The Paraná coast in Rosario, in the middle of a historical downspout of the water level.
Photo JUAN JOSE GARCIA
For the moment, problems in the provision of drinking water are ruled out, although the population is already recommended to make
responsible use of the service
.
Look also
The images of the strong and striking downspout of the Paraná River
Commercial navigation, due to the dredging of the waterway - it has an approximate depth of ten meters - allows the operation to continue, although
some vessels must leave with a lower load of cereal
to avoid complications and strandings.
The area is the
largest agro-export hub in the country
, from where 80% of the Argentine harvest is shipped to the world.
The INA indicates that in 1944 the Paraná reached negative levels in different areas of Santa Fe and Entre Ríos, below zero or sea level.
On February 22, on the coast of Rosario, the Paraná was 2.88
meters
high, so
in four months it descended 2.75 meters
.
Ships must reduce their grain loads to avoid problems.
It is the agro-export heart of the country.
Photo Bloomberg
One of the most complex issues to work on is the provision of drinking water.
In Rosario, the river provides this service to
370 thousand homes
.
The company Aguas Santafesinas SA (ASSA) has seven water treatment plants throughout the province -from Reconquista to Rosario- on which it has been working since last year adding or renovating extractor pumps in the face of a downspout panorama that, even with ups and downs, has been sustained since 2019 .
In Rosario it has two plants.
The oldest, in the northern part of the city, processes 600,000,000 liters of water per day and its facilities in the town of Granadero Baigorria take another 120,000,000.
Twenty-one extractor pumps work in Rosario.
“There is a degree of unpredictability that does not allow us to know how the river will end.
Until today we had no decrease in deposits.
There is no hypothesis of absence of service
.
There may be some decrease in flow ”, assured to
Clarín
the manager of Institutional Relations of ASSA, Guillermo Lanfranco.
The water supplier company warns the residents of Rosario about responsible use, although they assure that there will be no problems in the supply.
Photo Juan José García
Despite guaranteeing the provision of the service, the company asks, given the inconveniences imposed by the downspout, "responsible and supportive use",
avoiding using water to wash sidewalks and cars
, and seeking that behavior within homes is measured with consumption.
The sustained downward flow also causes droughts in the wetlands of the Paraná River, one of the most important in the world.
This condition aggravated the practice of burning that was repeated last year on the islands located off Rosario.
The situation causes severe consequences on biodiversity and the environment.
Despite the expectation for the favorable impact that the opening of dams in Paraguay or Brazil could cause, the INA and ASSA agree that it will not significantly modify the outlook.
As the lack of rain has long been punishing the entire region, specialists indicate that neighboring countries do not retain significant amounts of water.
This Friday the level of the Paraná was 0.11 centimeters.
In four months it descended 2.75 meters.
According to the records of the last 365 days, off the coast of Rosario the river never reached three meters in height.
A year ago, in a context that was also complicated, the height was 1.02 meter.
In the entire course of the river the downspout generates inconveniences.
The blanket of the subfluvial tunnel that connects the capitals of Entre Ríos and Santa Fe was once again exposed.
On the structure there is between twelve and eighteen centimeters of land, according to what they specified from the Entity that manages the connection.
"We want to transmit security to the users," the authorities said on Friday, ruling out inconveniences in the tunnel traffic despite the particular situation generated by the downspout.
"The technical teams carry out constant bathymetric measurements", although at the moment "compromising levels or anomalies in the flow distribution" were not detected.
In addition, it was reported that the protective covers show "adequate behavior, within a low-water scenario."
Rosary beads. Correspondent
Look also
The images of the strong and striking downspout of the Paraná River
Look also
The waterway, the main artery of the Argentine photosynthetic basin
Video: they ate a barbecue on the banks of the river, the earth was cracked and the grill swallowed
