13/07/2016
Samarco intensified, on July 4th, the dredging of the first 400 meters of the Risoleta Neves Hydroelectric Power Plant’s lake (Candonga). Two dredgers are being used. Together, they remove about 5,000 cubic meters of waste from the lake per day.
The dredgers’ displacement process began on June 27th with the partial closure of the plant’s gates aiming at the formation of more water depth. This action was necessary because the small volume of rainfall at the river head and the small existing water depth at the site made it impossible to position the dredges in the appropriate location. After the completion of the dredging, these areas will be recovered and revegetated with native plant species.
The floodgates were closed for about 54 hours, which raised the lake’s level by approximately 3 meters. Thus, the dredger could reach 400m away from the embankment, the ideal position to start the dredging process. After this stage, pipes linked the dredger to areas notified by the competent bodies for the deposition of the material to be removed from the reservoir.
During this first stage, 1.3 million/m3 of waste will be dredged by June 2017.
“We are committed to finding the best solution to the problems caused by the accident at Fundão. We understand that the dredging at Candonga will be a milestone, not only in relation to the resumption of the power plant’s operations, but also regarding the riverside communities downstream”, affirms Rodrigo Abreu, coordinator of the dredging activities.
See how the process works
The current dredging process can be better understood watching the video produced by Samarco to be presented to the community. Check it out:
