The reservoirs located in Huila began to recover their levels after the rains of recent days. El Quimbo reached a critical filling level of 17.82% and today it is already above 20%. Betania, in just 6 days, went from 64.68% to 82.72%.
Johan Eduardo Rojas López
The El Niño phenomenon has been the protagonist in 2024, due to the crisis it has generated on several sides. This has impacted the state of the useful volume of reservoirs in Colombia, which has allowed possible rationing and, in fact, a blackout to loom with uncertainty.
However, the rains are gradually getting worse and now it is requested to start taking measures to prevent serious difficulties with the La Niña phenomenon. The above has caused the reservoirs to slowly fill up again, although it is worth clarifying that, according to experts, the rains have not been enough for the alarm to cease and we will have to wait for the climate outlook to progress as it is.
According to the report from XM, operator of the Interconnected System and administrator of the Energy Market in Colombia, delivered on April 25, the useful volume of the reservoirs has been increasing during this last week and is currently at 30.76%. In that sense, an increase of 0.28% was recorded compared to the previous day and meanwhile it is moving away from the alarming figure of 27% and, consequently, from the negative consequences that this would bring.
However, the reality is that the average useful volume of reservoirs in the country in general has decreased significantly, thus surpassing the year of drought that occurred between 2019 and 2020, which by this same date had reduced to 31, 81%, consolidating itself throughout that period as the month with the lowest useful volume and, after this month’s behavior, it is expected to become one of the most complex periods historically.
The measures remain firm
Despite the slow improvement in this matter, the package of fifteen measures announced by the National Government led by Gustavo Petro Urrego in order to confront the water and energy crisis facing the country, remains in place.
Panorama in Huila
The Quimbo and Betania are the two dams that Huila has and, of course, the behavior of the reservoirs has presented various variations from January 1st to date.
In the case of El Quimbo, the lowest levels occurred between March 8 and lasted until April 19, and currently, its filling is growing, but there is still a long way to go to reach the level with which the year began. anus. For its part, Betania has remained stable, however, its greatest variation in negative terms occurred between March 22 and April 1, while at the moment it has already exceeded the percentage with which 2024 started.
| Variation of reservoirs in Huila | ||
| Date | El Quimbo | Bethany |
| 01/01/2024 | 61.96% | 78.89% |
| 01/05/2024 | 59.34% | 69.81% |
| 01/12/2024 | 54.93% | 81.61% |
| 01/19/2024 | 57.47% | 73.78% |
| 01/26/2024 | 47.57% | 73.28% |
| 01/31/2024 | 43.05% | 68.54% |
| 02/1/2024 | 42.06% | 69.78% |
| 02/02/2024 | 40.98% | 72.55% |
| 02/09/2024 | 38.90% | 75.83% |
| 02/16/2024 | 36.57% | 74.47% |
| 02/23/2024 | 33.37% | 76.65% |
| 02/29/2024 | 31.52% | 68.48% |
| 03/1/2024 | 31.02% | 69.31% |
| 03/08/2024 | 27.06% | 77.70% |
| 03/15/2024 | 24.28% | 75.22% |
| 03/22/2024 | 20.89% | 69.89% |
| 03/29/2024 | 19.45% | 63.30% |
| 03/31/2024 | 19.40% | 64.43% |
| 04/1/2024 | 19.80% | 63.30% |
| 04/05/2024 | 20.59% | 81.84% |
| 04/12/2024 | 19.94% | 67.59% |
| 04/19/2024 | 17.82% | 64.68% |
| 04/25/2024 | 20.54% | 82.72% |
