Balsas River - River Basin Development

River Basin Development

The Balsas River basin has witnessed much economic development. Through building dams these activities aimed at irrigation, generation of electricity, and improving agriculture and living conditions of indigenous people, mainly the Nahuas who form the majority group. Seven hydropower projects are envisaged on the Balsas River. The two major projects are the La Villita and El Infiernello (in Michoacan). The Carlos Ramirez Ulloa (El Caracol) project is being developed in the Guerrero and four others are planned for the future.

River Basin Councils

Water management has received due attention of the Government of Mexico over the past several decades. It included more efficient water use and aimed to meet water supply needs of the major cities in Mexico. The Tepalcatepec Commission was established in 1947 under the Ministry of Water Resources (one of the three commissions established initially) for the Balsas River development. In 1960, it was subordinated to the Balsas River Commission. Its tasks included planning, design, coordination and implementation of irrigation projects, flood control and hydropower generation, covering rural and urban development and health and communications aspects. Following the enactment of a new Water Law in the country, a Master Plan was developed in 1975 covering 13 hydrological regions (102 subregions). River Basin Councils were established, and 25 are currently in position out of the 26 planned.

The Balsas River has a discharge of 15–17 m3/s during the lean flow season. The steep slope of the river in a stretch of 30 km creates an elevation difference of 1200 m, providing excellent opportunities for hydropower development. Initially, 120 MW of power was generated at the power station at La Villita. This 336 MW station was built in the state of Michoacan, near the Pacific Coast. Another Balsas River project planned was the El Infiernillo; it became operational in 1964 and has an installed capacity of 1,120 MW. El Infiernillo Dam is a 149 m rockfill embankment dam.

Agriculture

Agriculture in the basin has a rich history of over 9000 years, with an impressive transformation from the stage of unwelcome grass to high-yield maize fields. The valley is therefore known as the cradle of the "maize revolution" in the region.

Irrigation and hydroelectric power generation

Two dams on the river provide for irrigation and power generation. The water stored by the dam built above Tierra Caliente is utilized for growth of cotton and rice. The Balsas River basin was first considered for hydropower development in the 1940s. The basin has an area of 105,900 km2, and the two projects implemented here are the La Villita and El Infiernello (both in Michoacan).

The El Infiernillo Dam is a 149 m rock fill embankment dam with a narrow central core. It is located on the Balsas River about 200 miles (320 km) southwest of Mexico City. Its height is about 148 m, crest length is 344 m, and the base width from the upstream toe to the downstream toe is 570 m. The reservoir has a storage capacity of 7,090 million m3. This is the largest hydropower project in Mexico which is also expected to reduce the floods in the area.

La-Villita is an earth-cum-rock fill dam with a crest length of 320 m, a height of 60 m, and a power generation capacity of 300 MW. This was the first dam built on the Balsas River. It is located 15 km from the Pacific Ocean.

Both dams have a solid structure and withstood well the five earthquakes of the magnitude up to 8.1 which occurred after their construction.

Transbasin water transfer

A project has been implemented to redirect some water from the Balsas River basin to the Lerma River Basin and the Valley of Mexico. It aimed to meet the growing drinking water needs of the Mexico City, which is about 130 km from the basin. Such transfers are expected to create water-sharing disputes among the basin states in the future.

Navigational studies

The navigation of this river by shallow–draft steamers was initially promoted for the development of the Guerrero area, and in 1911 a new concession was given by the Government of Mexico for this purpose. The proposal was to use the river for passengers and freight from the point of crossing of the Acapulco Trail to the Pacific Ocean, over the river length of about 300 miles. Initially a 25 foot boat was commissioned at Balsas railroad bridge station by Gullermo Niven, a business man in Mexico City who set out to establish its feasibility in November/December 1911. He had carried recommendation letters from President Medero of Mexico to important persons in towns and villages on the way. On this exploration he was accompanied by 11 people, including two river navigation experts and Fred Macfarlene, a California financier. The exploration lasted 22 days from the time of its departure till the return of the team back to Mexico City via Manzanillo on the steamboat S.S. Ramón Corral which picked the exploration party at the last point of their journey at Orilla. During this period many events happened en route due to rebel activities, but the navigation itself was fairly smooth except for an encounter with a rock outcrop in the middle of a narrow section of the river where the boat had overturned, injuring two people. While the river was proven navigable, investments to develop the facilities did not happen immediately due to the rebel activities in the area.