Environmental Recuperation and Flood Control Project of the

Environmental Recuperation and Flood Control Project of the Yaque del Norte River Gets Underway
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 10/4/2011

Problems with excessive sedimentation in the Yaque de Norte river banks will be corrected in an effort to safeguard the population and to guarantee the protection of the property and belongings of those living along the river.

The commission promoting this environmental recuperation of the rivers began the flood control project of the Yaque del Norte River with the goal of reducing the risks facing the communities in the face of possible natural disaster.

The commission promoting this environmental recuperation of the rivers began the flood control project of the Yaque del Norte River with the goal of reducing the risks facing the communities in the face of possible natural disaster.

The commission, formed by Executive Decree 582-09, is made up of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INDRHI in Spanish), the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC), the Presidential Commission of Support for Provincial Development and the National Council for Prevention, Mitigation and Disaster Response.

The Environmental Recuperation and Flood Control Project of the Yaque del Norte River includes three stretches of river. The first stretch is from the Ercilia Pepín Bridge to the dike under construction along the Ulises Francisco Espaillat canal, with a longitude of approximately 7 kilometers. In addition, a concrete wall will be built in Nibage and along the Circunvalación Avenue.

The second stretch includes the routing of the river from the dike of the UFE canal to the Rafey Jail; the construction of gabion retaining walls to close the current river bank in the area of Los Vargas, to re-route it to its original course and then build the Rafey wall.

The third stretch would be to re-route the river from the La Herradura neighborhood to Banegas and to continue the construction of a dike along the Los Almácigos canal to obtain the best collection of water for irrigation.

This flood control and riverbank protection work will help to avoid damage to the central areas of Santiago such as the Nibaje neighborhood, the Rafey Prison and the area around it, the cattle country, the neighborhoods located between the Hermanos Patiño Bridge and the Gurabo River (the neighborhood of Suelo Duro and the Borbón Alley), the neighborhoods of Valle Encantado, El Hoyo Oscuro and La Lata, thus benefitting the 1,500 people who live in these areas.

In the health, environmental and agricultural sector, the benefits will include the prevention of water-born diseases as well as the mitigation of risks in the agricultural zones, benefitting 40,000 hectares and 1,500 users.

The project is being undertaken with a budget of $23,688,000 US dollars and will be carried out by the Yarull Brothers Construction Company.

The commission is calling it the “Risk Management and River Banks Vulnerability Reduction Program¨ which also seeks to conserve the hydraulic and road infrastructure as well as the public water domain.

Workers began their first tasks in the presence of Ernesto Reyna Alcántara, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Frank Rodríguez, Executive Director of INDRHI, Gilberto Serulle, Mayor of Santiago and the provincial Governor Raúl Martínez.