The Engineer Sérgio Motta Dam, formerly known as the Porto Primavera Dam, is an

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface ...

on the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...

near Rosana in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil. It was constructed between 1980 and 1999 for

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

power production, flood control and

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

. An estimated 11 million tropical trees were submerged.

Technical

The dam is named for Sergio Roberto Vieira da Motta, a prominent industrial engineer in São Paulo. At in length, it is the longest dam in Brazil. The tall dam creates a reservoir with a capacity and surface area of . The dam supports hydroelectric

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

on its southern end with an installed capacity of . The power plant contains 14 x

Kaplan turbine The Kaplan turbine is a propeller-type water turbine which has adjustable blades. It was developed in 1913 by Austrian professor Viktor Kaplan, who combined automatically adjusted propeller blades with automatically adjusted wicket gates to a ...

generators. Although there are no plans to install them, the power plant has room to accommodate an additional four generators. The dam also supports a long and wide

navigation lock A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a chamber in a permanently fixed position i ...

on its southern end with the ability to transport 27 million tons a year.

History

Construction on the dam began in 1980 and the first filling of the reservoir to above sea level was complete by 1998. It was inaugurated in 1999 with the first three generators commissioned in March. In 2000, five more generators came online and by 2001, a total of ten were in operation. The second filling to above sea level was complete in March 2001 and by October 2003, all 14 generators were in operation. The dam flooded of the

Lagoa São Paulo Reserve The Lagoa São Paulo Reserve () is an ecological reserve in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It was created in 1942, but over the years suffered considerable degradation by illegal invasions and squatters. It was largely flooded after construction ...

and of the

Great Pontal Reserve The Great Pontal Reserve (), formally called the Pontal do Paranapanema State Reserve (), is an ecological reserve is the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It was created in 1942, but over the years suffered considerable degradation by illegal invasion ...

. In compensation, the Companhia Energética de São Paulo (CESP) created the

Rio Ivinhema State Park The Rio Ivinhema State Park () is a State park in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Location The Rio Ivinhema State Park is divided between the municipalities of Jateí (57.46%), Naviraí (21.36%) and Taquarussu (21.18%) in Mato Grosso d ...

, the

Rio do Peixe State Park The Rio do Peixe State Park () is a state park in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Location The Rio do Peixe State Park is divided between the municipalities of Dracena, Ouro Verde, Piquerobi and Presidente Venceslau, São Paulo. It has an ar ...

, the

Aguapeí State Park The Aguapeí State Park () is a state park in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It protects an area of floodplain in the Atlantic Forest biome, home to many water birds. Location The Aguapeí State Park is divided between the municipalities of ...

and the

Cisalpina Private Natural Heritage Reserve The Cisalpina Private Natural Heritage Reserve is a private natural heritage reserve in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. It contains an area of marshland at the head of the reservoir of the Eng Sérgio Motta Dam on the Paraná River. Lo ...

. In 2005, an infestation of ''

Hydrilla verticillata ''Hydrilla'' (waterthyme) is a genus of aquatic plant, usually treated as containing just one species, ''Hydrilla verticillata'', though some botanists divide it into several species. It is native to the cool and warm waters of the Old World in A ...

'' was discovered in the reservoir, the first time the invasive weed was discovered in Brazil. The dam has also had negative effects on downstream fish reproduction and has a long

fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon, is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as mov ...

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eng Sergio Motta Dam Dams completed in 1999 Energy infrastructure completed in 1999 Energy infrastructure completed in 2000 Energy infrastructure completed in 2001 Dams in São Paulo (state) Hydroelectric power stations in Brazil Embankment dams Dams on the Paraná River Locks of Brazil 1999 establishments in Brazil Dams with fish ladders

Technical

History

See also

References

Sources