Brazilian authorities have temporarily relaxed an environmental rule for the Belo Monte hydropower plant on the Xingu River in the northeastern Amazon. The change comes in anticipation of another potentially severe, El-Niño-fueled dry season. Under the temporary measure, Belo Monte’s operator Norte Energia can cut the flow of the dam’s 119 square-kilometer (46 square-mile) intermediate reservoir from the current minimum of 300 cubic meters per second (10,600 cubic feet per second) to 100 m³/s (3,530 ft³/s). It has already begun the gradual cuts to reduce flow. They will remain until Nov. 30. Regulators told Mongabay the change will allow the plant to both preserve electricity generation and water flows through the Volta Grande do Xingu, a large bend in the Xingu River where Indigenous and riverine communities depend on the river for fishing, transport and daily life. Reduced water flow in the reservoir increases the risk of poorer water quality, with potential consequences for both aquatic life and people as the river flows downstream. “Between a worse option and a bad one, they chose the bad one,” André Oliveira Sawakuchi, a geoscientist at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, told Mongabay by phone. Norte Energia said the measure will ensure that the required flow through the Volta Grande will remain unchanged. They also said that they will monitor water quality and fish movements and report back to regulatory agencies. “Significant social and environmental impacts are not expected.” IBAMA, Brazil’s federal environment agency, told Mongabay by email. “If the measure were…This article was originally published on Mongabay
