Villagers are wary of plans to dam a river to ensure Panama Canal’s water supply

Article content

EL GOPO, Panama (AP) — A long wooden boat has plunged into the chocolate waters of the Indio River carrying Ana Maria Antonio and a colleague from the Panama Canal Authority on a mission to hear directly from villagers who might be affected by plans to dam the river.

The canal forms the backbone of Panama’s economy, and the proposed dam would secure the water needed to ensure the canal’s uninterrupted operation at a time of increasingly volatile weather.

It would also flood villages, where about 2,000 people would have to be moved and where there is opposition to the plan, and limit the river’s flow to other communities downstream.

Article content

Those living downstream know that the massive project will dramatically change the course of the river, but they hope it will provide jobs, safe water, electricity and roads for their remote communities, and not just leave them poor.

“We, as the Panama Canal, realize that many of these areas have been abandoned in terms of basic services,” Antonio said.

Channel

The Panama Canal was completed in 1914 and generates about a quarter of the government’s budget.

Last year, the canal authority reduced the number of ships that can pass daily by about 20% because rain did not replenish the tanks used to operate the locks, which need about 50 million gallons of fresh water per ship. This led to shipping delays, and in some cases, companies looked for alternatives. By the time restrictions were lifted this month, demand had fallen.

To avoid a recurrence of drought exacerbated by climate change, the plan to build a dam on the Indio River has been revived.

It received a boost this summer by a decision from the Supreme Court of Panama. For years, Panama wanted to build another reservoir to supplement the main supply of water from Lake Gatun — a large man-made lake and part of the canal’s route — but a 2006 regulation prohibited the canal from expanding beyond its traditional watershed. The Supreme Court decision allowed the limits to be reinterpreted.

Article content

Article content

The Indio River runs almost parallel to the canal across the isthmus. The new reservoir is located on the Indio River southwest of Gatun Lake and supplements water from there and what comes from the much smaller Lake Alhaguila to the east. The Indio Reservoir will allow an estimated 12 to 13 additional canal crossings per day.

The reservoirs also provide water to more than two million people, half the country’s population, who live in the capital.

The river

Monkeys bellowed in the dense forest lining the Indio River on an August morning. The boat weaved around submerged logs beneath the rough concrete and wooden houses high on the banks. Local residents passed by in other boats, which are the main means of transportation in the area.

In the town of El Gobo, Antonio and her colleague carefully climbed the muddy slope of the river to a room belonging to the local Catholic parish, decorated with flowers and bunches of green bananas.

Inland, residents of El Gobo and Guayabalito, two areas that would not be exposed to flooding, took their seats. The canal authority has held dozens of such awareness meetings in the watershed.

Article content

Canal representatives hung posters with maps and photos showing the Indio River watershed. They talked about the proposed project, the recent Supreme Court decision, and a rough timeline.

Antonio said canal officials are talking to affected residents to find out their needs, especially if they are from 37 small villages where residents will have to be relocated.

Canal authorities said Indio is not the only solution they are considering, but just days ago, canal director Ricorte Catin Vazquez said it would be the most efficient option, because it has been studied for at least 40 years.

That’s roughly as long as Geronema Figueroa, 60, has lived along the Indio River in El Gobo. She said that the Indio tribe, in addition to being a vital transportation link in the region, provides water for drinking, washing clothes and watering their crops.

“This river is our highway and our everything,” she said.

The dam’s effect on the river’s flow was at the forefront of the gathered residents’ concerns, as well as why the reservoir was needed, what the water would be used for, which communities would have to relocate, how title deeds would be handled, and whether construction would pollute the river.

Article content

Boria Nunez of El Gobo summed up the concerns: “Our river will not be the same as the Indio River.”

progress

Kenny Alexander Masero, a 21-year-old father who raises cattle in Guayapalito, said it was clear to him that the reservoir would generate a lot of money for the canal, but he wanted to see it spur real change for his family and others in the region. Area.

“I am not against the project, it will generate a lot of work for people who need it, but you have to be honest in saying that we will provide projects for the communities that live in that area.” He said. “We want the highways. Don’t try to fool us.”

One complication was that while the canal authorities would be responsible for the reservoir project, the federal government would have to implement major development projects in the area. The feds were not in the room.

The project is not a guarantee of other benefits. There are communities along Gatun Lake that do not have safe drinking water.

Gilberto Toro, a community development consultant not involved in the canal project, said the canal administration actually has more public trust than Panama’s federal government because it has not been involved in many scandals.

Article content

“Everyone knows that canal projects come with a stamp of guarantee,” Toro said. “So a lot of people want to negotiate with the channel in some way because they know that what they are going to offer is not just going to be a trinket.”

Figueroa expressed similar faith in canal officials, but said residents will need to monitor them closely to avoid being ignored. “We cannot continue to live like this,” she said. “We do not have electricity, water, health care and education.”

Next steps

President Jose Raul Molino said that the decision on the Indio River project will be issued next year. The canal management will ultimately make the decision, but the project will require coordination with the federal government. A public vote is not necessary, but the channel’s director said he is looking forward to reaching a general consensus.

Opposition has emerged, not surprisingly, in communities that may be inundated.

Among these was Limón, where the channel representatives parked their car and took a boat to El Gobo. It is where the reservoir dam will be built. The highway has only been there for two years and the community still has many needs.

Oligario Hernandez has had a sign in front of his home in Limon for the past year that says: “No tanks.”

The 86-year-old farmer was born there and raised his six children there. All of his children have left the area for opportunities, but Hernandez wants to stay.

“We don’t need to leave,” Hernandez said, but the channel’s management “wants to expel us.”

Article content