Diagnosis of Erosion Dynamics in the Balsas Basin: El Caracol Hydropower Dam

Abstract

Soil erosion occurs naturally in both river basins and riverbeds due to the impact of raindrops and the subsequent runoff. In addition, human activities have accelerated erosive processes by modifying the soil cover and breaking the balance between erosion and sedimentation through the interruption of river flows for the construction of hydraulic facilities such as hydroelectric dams. In the present work, an analysis is made based on the Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and on data from hydrometric stations within the basin studied for the period 1984-2006. The intention is to verify that the behavior of erosion and runoff is reflected in the direct measurements of sediments. According to the results, it was found that a large part of the El Caracol Basin is exposed to severe erosion. On the other hand, with the analysis of the double mass curve of five hydrometric stations, it is observed that from 1992 the suspension washing material tends to decrease over the years.