Communal authorities of San Antonio demanded concrete measures to regional leaders to face the mega-drought that affects the Maipo riverafter this Wednesday it was revealed that the flow stopped flowing into the sea.
The south-central area of our country has been marked in recent months by the water crisis it is facing. Added to this is the recent phenomenon of abnormal tidal waves, which ended up blocking the main water source in the Metropolitan region.
The formation of sediments generated by the force of the waves is a common cycle that occurs every time these phenomena occur. However, this time the flow of the “river ran out of strength”.
This was explained by the researcher from the Federico Santa María University, Raúl Flores, who specializes in process studies and coastal engineering.
“Since we have satellite records, in 1985, it has not been documented that the mouth of the Maipo has closed,” the academic asserted. “Older studies do not account for it either. If I’m not mistaken, this is the first time in history that this has happened. At least, in the last 40 years ”, he highlighted.
Water extractions to the Maipo river
The San Antonio councilor, Milko Caracciolo, revealed the serious situation of the Maipo riverbed, where he assured that it is weakened due to the extraction of water from different companies.
Both the municipality and the residents of the commune repudiated the existence of this type of intervention in the Maipo River, for which they demanded that the Provincial Delegation take concrete measures in the face of the current crisis.
In the same way, the researcher Raúl Flores stated it, who specified that on Wednesday, the hydrological station of Santiago, El Manzano, threw 70 cubic meters per second (m3/s) into the flow.
Maipo River and mega-drought
As Flores explained, this situation is due to the mega-drought that affects the Metropolitan region, since to date the Maipo River has always overcome the sediments of the tidal waves.
However, according to information published by The Mercuryat the Cabimbao station of the General Water Directorate (DGA), close to the mouth area, the river has suffered other months similar to the current one.
During January 2022, a water course of 4.1 m3/s was averaged, while in 2020 it was 5 m3/s. For the rest, it was in 1997 when the lowest rate to date was averaged, 2.3 m3/s.
Meanwhile, according to DGA records, until Yesterday, Wednesday, 1.8 m3/s were marked at said station.
In this regard, the director of Water of the Ministry of Public Works (MOP), Rodrigo Sanhueza, affirmed that they do not have a photographic record that verifies if on those occasions the Maipo river continued to flow into the sea.
It should be noted that until January 2010, prior to the mega-drought declared since 2019 and which has been escalating to date, the flow reached an average of 101 m3/s in that month.
Flow level loss
In the Santo Domingo wetland, the Maipo River has suffered a loss of at least 81% of its surface in almost a decade.
Specifically, the body of water that covered 82 hectares, decreased to 16. Given this situation, Diego Urrejola, executive director of the Cosmos Foundation, whose organization is in charge of managing the wetland, questioned that, despite the fact that there have been years with greater drought, the flow does not reach the sea.
“Last winter was relatively rainier. There must be other factors, related to the need for supervision, in addition to the drought, ”he accused.
Within these edges, emerges that of a wall installed by the drinking water company, Coopagua, which supplies the commune of Santo Domingo.
In this context, the governor of the Valparaíso region (GORE), Rodrigo Mundaca, in coordination with the regional authority of the DGA, carried out an analysis on the ground at the mouth, where he confirmed the fact.
“The dam prevents the free flow of water. I requested by trade first thing in the morning to stop these tasks, ”said the highest regional authority. “A work of this nature seems improper to me if it does not have the permits,” he emphasized.
For his part, Juan Pablo Astudillo, general manager of Coopagua, clarified that it would be a temporary infrastructure. Specifically, he stressed that it fulfills the function of preventing storm surges from damaging the intake that draws water to supply the commune, where its consumption triples in summer.
That is why, in case of removing the work, the manager assured that “the risk that saline intrusion prevents the production of drinking water grows.”
“This work has been done before without stagnation. there is no direct relationship. It must be considered that we are the last users of the Maipo, where there are important industrial uses upstream, ”he stressed.