In order to release the volume of water from the Oeste Dam in Taio, in Alto Vale do Itajaí, the civil defense of Santa Catarina opened the five gates of the structure this Wednesday morning (1st).

The operation began on Tuesday (31) after the reservoir exceeded its maximum capacity. On Wednesday morning (1st), the building was 102.91% occupied.

The dam was filled with water again on Monday evening (30) – Photo: courtesy images/RedeWebTV/Reproduction/ND

Two locks are still closed. According to the Santa Catarina Civil Defense, opening the floodgates does not mean a significant increase in the flow of water leaving the dam.

According to the agency, the goal is to empty the reservoir to reduce the amount of water stored as Santa Catarina is expected to receive large amounts of rain in the coming days, allowing the facility to store more water.

“It is worth noting that this operation is being monitored by the technical team of the Civil Defense of Santa Catarina,” noted a note published on social networks.

The Sul Dam in Ituporang still has four closed gates and only one open.

The gates of the dam at José Boite are closed.

The gates of the Norte Dam in José Buat were closed on Tuesday (31) due to the forecast of heavy rain in the region from Thursday (2) to Friday (3).

According to the Santa Catarina Civil Defense, one gate of the structure was already closed, and yesterday afternoon the second one was also closed.

Image shows the difference in river levels below the North Dam shortly after the sluice gate at José Buat was closed – Photo: Civil Defense/Reproduction/ND

The sluice closure maneuver will help reduce river levels below the reservoir ahead of forecast heavy rainfall, minimizing the impact of potential further flooding.