TS Nadine Caused Dam Spill Overs Out West

Three hydroelectric dams that are managed by Fortis Belize Limited sit along the Macal River, which runs through San Ignacio and Santa Elena. Dams like these are proven to prevent flooding by regulating the flow of water. But over the weekend, following heavy rainfalls linked to Tropical Storm Nadine, two of the three dams began to spill, the Mollejon and the Vaca Dams. We spoke with President of Fortis Belize Limited, Kay Menzies, on Sunday morning over the phone. She gave us a situational update on these dams.

 

On the Phone: Kay Menzies, President, Fortis Belize Limited

“Remember in the whole hydroelectric arrangement we have three dams. The largest is Chalillo which is the reservoir everybody was hearing about earlier this year and that hold back a majority of water that supplies the dams throughout the year. Chalillo has not so far overflowed. It is about five meters below the top of the spill level. We will see how it goes over the next couple of days there. However, below Chalillo, of course you have a river and creeks still flowing throughout the river, so Mollejon and Vaca both spilled in the course of the last couple of days. Yesterday, Mollejon had a slight spill and that is now over. Mollejon is not spilling as of this morning. But, Vaca is fed also by the Rio Hon. That goes through the Pine Ridge. Rio Hon has been at flood stage for the last day. So Vaca continues to spill for the time being. However, the good news is that the spill is slowing down. We don’t see, at the moment, the spills getting worse. We actually see them decreasing at the moment.”