This Saturday the Government of Mexico announced a project for the El Zapotillo Dam to supply water to the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area without flooding the towns of Temacapulín, Acasico and Palmarejo.
The proposal that the Government of Jalisco shares with the federal government is a curtain that will be 80 meters long, with additional works carried out for the safety of the inhabitants, through automated gates that will close in the rainstorm and open in the dry season. This will guarantee a supply of water from the Verde River for the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area of 3.5 cubic meters per second.
"The State Government shares the proposal that CONAGUA has made, which we consider solves the problems we face. Achieving 3.5 m3 per second for us is a very important solution for the city's deficit, and above all, we believe that now with this measure of operation of the dam to regulate the levels of operation for the three towns, the political conflict would be resolved; that is, the demand that the towns not be flooded would be being met, ”Alfaro Ramírez pointed out.
Alfaro Ramírez endorsed that, by not flooding the populations, the water channel received by the AMG would be derived for distribution with the El Purgatorio System, in which both governments will invest. He added that it is a task that cannot be postponed after having experienced the worst drought that affected 600,000 Jalisco residents who suffered from a shortage of water in this dry season.
“If the populations are not going to be flooded, then we should no longer talk about a political problem. If the water is going to stay in Jalisco there should be no problem, and of course if the water that is going to be generated in this dam allows us to solve the supply of the most important city in the country, because it seems to us that what we are doing is making decisions for the benefit of future generations and this is recognized and appreciated,” said Alfaro.
The president recognized the work and attention that the Presidency has placed on this issue by finding ways of understanding that have been unleashed through a technical table, so as to not affect the population, but with the idea of solving the problem of water supply.
Yesterday at the El Zapotillo dam, the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, reported that next week the head of CONAGUA, Germán Martínez, will present the solution to the residents of the three communities in the Plaza de Temacapulín, and announced that he will return in a month to follow up on the issue. Prior to arriving at the dam, he spoke with residents of Temacapulín, where
he specified that this alternative "is not desirable, it is possible in technical terms because the dam was designed to have a 105-meter curtain, and it would stay at 80 meters," he said regarding a work whose construction began 10 years ago, and of which around 6 billion pesos have been invested.
“The good news is to tell them that it is not going to flood, and give them the guarantee that this will not happen. Technically explain why, and assume responsibility for any claim, for any extraordinary situation, something unforeseen, for anything that might happen, as a kind of insurance where the Federal Government undertakes the charge of possible damages that over time could affect the three peoples. I would sign that commitment and we would raise it to the rank of law by means of a decree, so that they are completely sure that nothing is going to happen that affects the peoples; that it will not be flooded, ”explained Andrés Manuel López Obrador. He also asked that political interests step aside and do not put their personal interests first; "We do not want politicking; they do not get involved."
In the technical explanation Germán Martínez Santoyo, director of CONAGUA, affirmed that work on the dam will not be completed, nor will Temacapulín be affected; instead the installation of gates and reinforcement of the existing diversion work is required. With this, it will be possible to manage levels in the reservoir and constantly deliver 3.5 cubic meters of water to the AMG.
To provide structural, hydrological, and hydraulic safety to the dam, Martínez said, it is necessary to complete the construction of the buffer tank and other complementary works. During the rainy season, the gates will be closed for the first filling, then the levels will be managed with the diversion work.
"The Government of Mexico privileges the security, protection, and development and well-being of the inhabitants of the three towns," added the head of CONAGUA.
To meet the demand of the Altos de Jalisco and strengthen the AMG, it will be necessary to build the aqueduct in the El Salto-Calderon system, CONAGUA reported.