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The Government delays until 2028 a controversial Huelva dam

2022-09-26T21:11:13.599Z


Scientists recommend an in-depth study of the heavy metals that contaminate the Alcolea reservoir to decide in six years whether to proceed with the construction of the new water tank


The controversial Alcolea dam, in Huelva, will continue to be interrupted for at least another six years.

The Ministry for Ecological Transition has postponed until 2028 the construction of the reservoir on the Odiel River, due to the high amount of heavy metals and sulfates that 200 mines and their toxic waste ponds dump into the riverbed.

The viability of the dam, paralyzed in 2017 at 21% of its construction, has since been scrutinized as much as the striking copper-colored waters of the river, to verify if they are suitable for irrigation or human consumption.

Despite the fact that everything indicates that the extreme acidity discourages its use, the conclusion of the scientists is that none of the main studies carried out to date by Seprona of the Civil Guard, the University of Huelva, environmentalists and different companies is definitive. : Intensive monitoring of the basin is necessary, at least during a hydrological cycle (the next six years) to examine the water and sediments, and thus determine "polluting loads" with "reliable calculations", according to the report by the Center for Studies and Experimentation of Public Works (CEDEX), of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, to which this newspaper has had access.

After centuries of mining deposits, the Odiel and the Tinto in Huelva are among the rivers that suffer the highest density of heavy metals in the world, according to several international studies.

The flow of the Odiel is acidic, ferruginous and with a low pH and biodiversity, a consequence of the tailings, tailings dams and pyrite ashes, which discharge mainly zinc, iron, manganese and copper.

“In order to be able to predict future water quality conditions with greater precision and rigor, it is recommended to carry out intensive monitoring in the basin with adequate spatial and temporal resolution, at least during a hydrological cycle (…) It is also suggested to elaborate a hydrochemical model”, concludes the CEDEX report, dated last February.

The ministry will shortly formalize the assignment to the researchers to clarify before 2030 if the dam is viable or the investment of 100 million would be a waste of money, sources from the Department of Teresa Ribera specify.

Map of the mines in the Odiel river basin.

/CEDEX

Despite the logical precautions, scientists rule out a falsehood spread in recent years about the dam: that when stagnant water is stored, over time the heavy metals would go to the bottom and would not remain in suspension, so the water would lose the acidity upstream.

“If a low pH value were maintained throughout the year in the water that would reach the reservoir, the precipitation of toxic metals would be prevented, which would remain in solution with the exception of iron.”

This descent of heavy metals to the bottom would not occur neither in the expected tailings dams, nor in the reservoir vessel, the experts clarify.

Since Andalusia reactivated many of the once-abandoned mines in 2015, the quality of the water has suffered "progressive acidification and an increase in the concentration of dissolved toxic metals."

More information

An international consultant admits multiple errors in a report that supports the construction of a reservoir in Huelva

The report, developed over a year and a half and signed by the head of the Water Environment area and by the director of Water and Environment studies at CEDEX, contains 78 references to previous studies, many of them with sampling in the 121 kilometers that the Odiel riverbed runs.

Despite the fact that until now the balance of research carried out in the last 20 years is tilted towards the veto on the use of water in Alcolea, scientists are cautious: "It is recommended to adopt a cautious posture and propose a detailed study with greater spatial resolution and in the basin to resolve the most conflictive or contradictory issues”.

Despite the fact that the Andalusian Government received the CEDEX report months ago, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Carmen Crespo, has insisted on the urgent need for the Government to invest in cleaning up all the mining dumps abandoned and active, a work that would take decades and amounted to between 600 and 800 million euros, given the state of abandonment of many sites.

Crespo has known since the beginning of summer that scientists recommend an in-depth study to verify that the water can be used, but 10 days ago she insisted: "The Andalusian Executive is willing to assume payment for the Alcolea reservoir."

Río Tintillo, a tributary of the Odiel near the Rio Tinto copper mines.

ECOLOGISTS IN ACTION

The Alcolea dam has been a key element in the battle that the Andalusian Junta (PP) is carrying out against the Government (PSOE and United We Can) over water policy.

In a cyclical way, the Andalusian councilors accuse the Executive of Pedro Sánchez of lack of investment and he replies that the data deny his accusations.

In this crossroads of reproaches, the Board aligns itself with the irrigating farmers and is a staunch defender of the construction of the Huelva dam, which is why two years ago it commissioned a study from the prestigious Dutch institute Deltares.

However, the regional Executive was shot in the butt and after stating that the reservoir "would improve the quality of the river's flow", Deltares reversed course and acknowledged numerous errors in its calculations, issuing an addendum to the initial report of 30 pages,

Two years ago, the New Water Culture Foundation prepared a report for WWF (World Wildlife Fund) that concluded that the contamination made the dam unfeasible, unless the water was treated at a cost of 28 million a year or the dumps were restored. .

The study reached the same conclusion as the University of Huelva, which in 2007 ruled out the "agricultural or urban" use of Alcolea's waters.

“The restoration of the old mines would take a minimum of 20 years.

It is very clear that the water is lousy and would be a waste of money.

Of the 28 reports made, only some are in favor of the Board, such as that of the Ayesa company, the rest are all very negative”, reasons Joan Corominas, vice president of the Zaragoza-based foundation and one of the five authors of the report. .

From WWF, Rafael Seiz, technician of its Water Program, summarizes: “As long as runoff from the mines is not addressed, the water will not improve.

The first thing that the Board, which has mining powers, must do is an inventory of abandoned and active mines, since there is no official diagnosis.

The water is so acidic that it is corrosive and would not even be suitable for industrial use”.

Today, extremophile bacteria kill algae, plants, and other aquatic organisms in the river by oxidation.

While the intention to clean the dumps is carried out, it is evident that the presence of the mines makes it difficult for the water to be drinkable one day.

In 2017, a concrete plug in a gallery broke in the old La Zarza mine, abandoned since 1991, causing a spill of 270,000 cubic meters of acidic water full of pollutants that traveled 50 kilometers from the Odiel.

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Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-09-26

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