Panama Canal Expansion Project - Environmental Impact

Environmental Impact

The ACP's proposal claims that the third set of locks project is environmentally viable. It finds that all possible adverse environmental impacts can be mitigated through existing procedures and technology, and anticipates no immitigable or permanent adverse impacts on the population or the environment. There are no elements within the scope of the project that will compromise its environmental viability, such as communities, primary forests, national parks or forest reserves, relevant patrimonial or archaeological sites, agricultural or industrial production areas, or tourist or port areas.

The proposal also concludes that the project will not cause permanent or irreversible impacts on water or air quality. The proposed water supply program fulfills the objectives of maximizing the water capacity of Gatun and Alhajuela Lakes, and applies the most efficient water utilization technology at the locks so no new reservoirs will be required. Consequently, it will not be necessary to relocate communities. The entire area directly affected by the project is located within the ACP's operational and administrative areas.

Critics of the project contend there are many environmental topics to be considered, such as the link between El Niño (ENSO) and the global warming threat to water supplies. The ACP has commissioned studies by a number of consultants about water supply and quality issues; some, like Eric Jackson (editor of the Panama News internet newspaper), Gonzalo Menendez (former head of the National Environmental Authority, or ANAM by its Spanish initials), Ariel Rodriguez (University of Panama biologist), former Vice Minister of Public Works Grettel Villalaz de Allen, and others are some of the most prominent critics of the canal expansion plan from the point of view of water quality issues.

Jackson contends that the ACP's public statements often do not match the findings of their studies. He argues that studies by Delft Hydraulics, WPSI Inc., and DHI all say that no matter what is done to mitigate the problem, the water-saving basins of the proposed new locks will increase the intrusion of salt water into Gatun Lake, from which about half of Panama's population takes its drinking water. The chosen method to partially mitigate this problem is to "flush" the new locks with fresh water from Gatun Lake, but this defeats the proposed new locks' water-saving feature and raises questions about the security of the urban water supply.

However, one of the leading environmental organizations in Panama, ANCON (the National Association for Nature Conservation), says that the studies and projections of operations of the third set of locks, including the water-saving basins, credibly state that there will be very low levels of salinization of waters of Gatun Lake and that these levels will preserve the biological separation of the oceans while safekeeping biodiversity and water quality for human use.