Table Of ContentD]\
T
T E NORT'H
O F : B Z ]L
DNOCSe nenc
c1lam.su ! 3.s gnu. i d I I
DAMS TT NORTHEASTOFBRAZIL
cooRDl TO AN D SUFERVISOR
Jos6 ury rArag6oA ratjo - Miniqga nd CivilE ngineer.
TitularP rof Soilr Mechanic-s FqderaUl nivprsftyo f Ceard
Assesso GeneraDlt irectoro f the SwOCS.
PREPAR
Jos6 Arag5oA radjo
Anibal deAndrade- CivilE nglineer
Heado f Division- DNOCS- :2and D.R.
Elza Oliveira- CivilE nginee;r DNOCS- $Th D.R.
Maria Ara(jo - CivilEngineer- DNOCS ; Dams Divirsion.
CONSUL
do EngenihanSia.A .
senttion
This work represents the contrib the DNOCS N'ational
Department of Wor,ks against - to the Xl ,ICOLD-
lnternational Congresso f 'LargeD ams, is being held t,he first
time in our coun city of Rio J,aneiro.
The DNOCS, a federal izuthority su to the Mit try of the
'ng
lnterior, has been designing and darns alon the fears
with the prime objective of storage of the Brazilia,nla/o,rtheast
(a region in which this resourcei s v ), one of its areas
of actuati'on. lt is thus: the holder t experieDC€ titthe water
storage field, be'ing one of c authorities ic,hm ost
contributed to the for,mation of se quantity 'o hydraulic
which exit in Brazil.
This work is translatedl 'hrougha cQtlc€ffihrt the main
dams constructed by the authority, the f various ions of
engineers who devotctd cause of a and
needy region, trying to soften the h of the semi- zoneb y
the construction of works, of u in the
creation of an efficient infrastruc e for Polygon of ughts.
The present General Direc'tion is pro to pt t this evicf, of the
realizationso f the DNOCS, during its m, than seven, of
existence, presenting it to the speci, :ed tt hnical co ity'of the
learned forum of debate's of the XIV tional Cong o;f Large
Dams.
Jcs6 Osvaldo
Director Generalo f
Explanat n0teiand
Akno le gemnts
The idea to ulge the experience of the DNOCS The preparation this t would been
f National of Works against Droughts) in unfeasible if it had no the Sterman t incentive
the design and construction of dams is owed to the and tot,al backing of 'aldo Fontes, Llirector
Brazilian C), ittee of Large Dams. The propicictus General of the DNOC He ttributed great'
occasion for I' launching of its publication will be the to this work and in to e. d to the all
XIV lnternartir Congress on Large [)ams, to be held in dams constructed by D S, a detailed
Rio de Janeiro i, May, lW2. of info r'nation similar tha divulgctd for
The intenti,on the authors, in this initiative, is not only herein.
to pay homagc"t the DNOCS as a pioneer in the creation The dedicated work of Anibal
of reservoirs, t5u to' rgeivde, to the technicalpublic access to Bendvolo de Elza Gomes 0liveira
the knowledge a during more than T0yearsb y the deserues recognition, selection of
authority w,hit:h tructed and conserves the greatest compila'tion of data, and of t'he text
number of dam in Brazil. concerning the dams tativet of the a ion of
This experien e was gained in the Semi-arid Zone, the DN?CS. Io both ia Zta Timbd ij,o, who
adjusting tthe conditions by nneans of the best objectiv'ely and e, consctlidated Cadastre,
available tec . For this reason almost att of the based on previously tory data, ing the
dams construct by the DNOCS are of earthfiil and dams constructed bv DIVOCS,
made preferen use of the excess manual labour deserve the principle this publication Wo'rthyo f
available in the razilian Northeast, above all during the gratitude is the Prof. de ,Filt,row ho
periodic droug'h compiled an o,f the tern
ln spite o,f th,e nature of basic data, thework geology.
of the DNOCS c be considered positive by the factthat Fund;tmental aid by the
they were p'racti, successfulwith all of the 265p ublic collaboration of the staff of the tof
dams and the dams constructed in cooperation with Natural Resources SUDEIYE ana' public
rural owner;s. servantso f the Bank l, tthrough
Equally, objective was achieved, to show the the ETE'NE.
Northeasterner importance of the canstruction and Each ,employeeo f S wt\o was
good useo f was ready and willit lor the
Having d,i, the technology, particulary for small elaboratlon of this t,hemsrrt out the
dams, the increased and recently recieved an Assrsfenfs of the General, thtz As;sistent
exceptional irnp with the Development program of Directors of Planning, anclA ton the
Hydric R of the Ministry of the lnterior. Tl\e Regional Directors, the 2nd and ,DR's,t he
DNOCS has lll under construction, 25 designed, 6 Dams, Geology, Carto,graphy Public
being desigTne,dand 34 under study untit lg{JS, all Relations Division the Libra'ry, the tic,
integrated in th'is Microfilrning the R tictn of
All the derms the DNOCSh ave multiple purposes: DocumentsS ection.
regularization flow, supply to populations ancj ProfestsorsG endsio de Araujo, 'i'cente de
settlements,, irri: tion, fish-breeding and occasionally PauloP e,reiraB arbosa tonio Neto and
the generat,ion' electricity. Each reservoir, however, Gerhard Otto S ientists'o f the S, as
functions as a cl tre of ruraldevelopment contributing ro wellas Bacharal Er Ch,iefo f titL" 'ab,ineto f
the permanencie the Northeastern country man in his the Direc'tor General, speci'almentt',
glebe. Specizrl consignatit td to the great
It r.s to present, an abbreviateC but provideo'by Joaquim de Avila and Al,izrdo lvan
'thf
embracing atnd'f, ul view of the aciion of the DNOCS Bicudo who are the h'igh s of this
in the dams: . For a better understanding of ttte documentary.W orthy for their
position of the w, ter storage program of the Northeast, fa stid io u.sa n d u ntirin g are the typi:; Maria de
an initial ctlaptt has been inserted concerning the Fdtima Cristino da Silva and Jodo fos de
characteristics of ,eS emi-AridZ one, with emphasiso n Albuquerque, helped v tan B'ezerra d Flegina
the drought,ph,e non and the mission of the DNOCS Martins.
to improve i effects and pramote regional To all who, in ', c:ontribu to the
development. t4nessential part of this publication is the realization of this work the sincere titude of
chapter d,e and illustrating 14 dams thosewho elaborated it
representatfue the DNOCS realizations. To
complement' it, r'eagmismteerd of all the dams constructed Ft t(n2
designed and p by the department until l98S, Jos6A ma Araujo
wasadded.
nts
Presentatioo,. 03
ExplangtorNy otea n{ Acknowledgements.. . 05
Introduction 09
13
13
29
THED ROUGHTS
ThBW orksa gainsdt roughts.;
Bibliggr aphic Refefences
PARTII
REPRESENIATTVEIDAMS
Or6s ,.... 0m
LimaiCampps....! ....04s)
Engerrheiro Avido .... 057
Cedro
,... 067
ArrojqdoL igboa. . q. . . ... 075
EugertriGo udin ....081
GenefaSla qrpaio..... .. .. 089
Curerpa- Mde D'{gua Systenr .,..o97
FrancjiscoS aboia . ".. 105
PauloLS arasate ,... 113
Trairi
119
Pereirldae Miiranda ....125
Santai Cr,uz , . . . 1 3 1
PART III
CADASTREO FDNOCSD AMS
Constructed Dams
lSl
Damsi underc onstruction
155
ScheduledD ams 157
tnrcdction
pwporhpeEicusrhalea zntit'oi't,osn tnhlye Tti=hcq ll'la nlyroig pst.ae eabgsllgrtce. neo aupidnney tcri utnyh l iienae rtxihltc6ieeet hsws ,so c osrelfud nc,1t hwu2 ri0ytah m s aa.in.l l ipdotha naes,t Adcoamn TaA:|:zt4iedda enNtriaiano""gr (t hF(Pemoarraesei-t,st 'one) gtsotuc tabhttd hei,e pwv aid"eraSesmdet;e m tiln,ti- n':ti hds'ttorhae"ele " (Z Sp"oPeanrrmaetsi--,
prrntpAfoheero€raffoegsfor tfTcmp iiiiroAdochoe fna nmaelcnEstn.nt hqca : n,d ,,ezuStcHtooohf eluioa,ensnt,tt,;vewvs n ecohn ratcirarr cn''adceiantah iel,lt -obal,i-. eg SJ tennahpic oooadnod e uu l dudmuiu tvt s Pinhnsneib_d,,poipc itaennayoorpp det dr;np rru i doot ouriigt,n eamsslh autppsc feotio eeeci e a cnra rrsdtmtoooohl eh nuunr ca saetts s-nioihr enet maaduen uxlnn a'agoiebt dsdthr u nai tgo-eppets yeeon nirr Nrs o .oocoe r eo oggecirxgrf ar o t roei iahesnnn,f es{s godasww asrm ii t vv eistiatnheeiathrc,g ;;-ste lb/wAdlofeasrricstioT lThadsauhl lh ttn')h,igi,eoetoc ahh s nledneiote,ni ep s .gctm sp hhcdiiccdleaeieur-ae uiavfebnlis ircveaciediddeleser ncr y tshe T8esch0r lseci0'mtc e ear ehmtexa tirv,acciti tzi''salecmeliitylrnpnlrry foteasipogellhnriizrctl gipn rt w,o/hftbhsirmte eeeerhmet yi sLm dal tifrnseheoicdsesar
lanTdh ea nCdien S.onut thw, awtehro, ses tiamgurelaetaebdl e coclliomnaiztea,t icftenr tibtey pocohripaetrn'a,tlacattceinergi,s dtice/ ffisnoifng et:isaNlc, ,tu, greu'ie,d tihnwngiit chitts mn,oomldyin agn itds
more de,vel, countries thus establishing itself as a migrittory mov rfS.
great agric I region with expanding competitive and
COITI|TI€\'C|&,l i, slrie: Thig r.eOio.nc .ontains many large The outcry of ught nictims, wing the
dams for th,e sneration of electrical energy. occa,siono f the has pteriodic, o'rawn the
The A,ma'z ,, with the largest catchmeni area and the attention of the bs to this regional
greatest e torial forest in the world, is onty now conilngency, who manifest with
sbieagrti nonf itnl\ge t r'ao e drel uvsealogpee odf iints pthoete nnatitaiolinsa ld einmtearnediti.n gT ahne otenrlmy esmoluetrigoenns cyare tan ',. hOowne vtheer siet oc asiobnes smhoorret
urgent and c development program, which in clides reaso'nable to reit t ample and ,ativet regional
large hydro ic dams. devel'opment plan, /s w the lntentiotz
',
The N'on is a region of contrasts and chronic It was in this at high ,point ot, droughts,
problem:;. It in this region that the discoverers of thatt,he large regi, a tes vverec re,a . The great
Brazil es the colonial government and where the drouttht of 1e77,tu0 'gcehn, eratted ive and
ouTrnhiigetei ned x opifnl o thitthette,ti, tiorons! - wothfa-, Ese txeypsoutoalsdbi oli"snph aoeufd tbwhreha esfinol' r, tehaigehn dt h tirnheveea sdruaegcrase.rs (tthrlnaesn ps"et'ltcnttisooprneaactletc o oormifa iWss,i os,ro oCmobinnat tr1 aDt 9raOosu9co, ohnt j, a"f te- rwlaarndctsos
accatniveit ieesp oocfh t crokuedn trtyh.e beginning of the econohic ItFhOe C",,lSn s(pFeecdtoerriaal Fl,e eraclt '=a Oteb roaf: ; CWoonr"ktr:i;t Is'o SCleocmabsa" t-e
The Nat resources of the Northeast offer great Droughts) and the 'esen "Deparrtamen,l Nacional de
potential,. ir di7g the production of petroleum and Obras: Contra as S DN (National
other strtttegi minerals. lts geographicai position offers Department of Wr s sf Droughts of which the
competit,ive c Tcltttonsi n terms of both external markets "Companhia de imento do do S5'o
and with re t to the two other economic regions of the Francisco - COD SF( elopment C ny of the
country. ln e of these advantages it contr-nues to the S5o f'rancisco Valle ) was sector.
nlioiastacs rat cgpilouleotnphspaietue lp lsent tf'c|tt io/kalrie'oent, ytth.eaeetbn oBst norwlalyuhz tepielniaa p rnitoti cviTsieep crratorytinte osisnri dy iB enarr nea|d dz/ i cllt0.oh Tnaohttfa itsithnh ceseo r ne1gtg7rrai3ooso sntfs NwCoaHrTsEd heSees'ttF t Cre 0e o9fdlme4ox5 p8 )a rona(fhs iilat", i-dN7Er9oBl4e-2Icdrtori(CucNgaoal mit,dtrp,to ha ewnaShysd ilt!o,|e, ;thFe,o. af" SBnBCcarOains zcc-iolo))
conTthroel se sth,see s of ath ned percoobnleomm ic isc oinn ntchtea ticolnims.ate which aNDncedrvd eelto,hspetme e-" SnutS poUef DrtihnEe, ,Eo- ;a td, (oSw ugDrpeeesreinnt 'indrrcu,,yrei nnogtfo t thdheoe
course of the t droughts of l95l-53 and 19ffi. These the Northeast, for tlVes tuQy and c'ontrol ma,terials in
authorities in not only to remedy periodic calamities earthtill dams.
hut to effici,en promote regional progress and well- Fou'rteen of the manYdams constru ted bV the
being of its . tn one point all their plans and DNOCS in the S Arid egion of the the,asth ave
strategies and that is thatwater is the limiting factor been selected for i s d umentary. T\ of them,
of the reoi' development. lt is necessary only to "Estevam Marinho" D'Agua", gr'oupedin
complemzol't maximum accumulation of the hy,dric the "tlurema Sy,stem". 'hree others
resources wit its optimum usage through efficient "O16s", "Arrojado Li, " (Eanabuiu)' "Pauto
management. Sarasizte" (Araras) ve an ge capact gre,aterthan
The D,IIOC established its line of action based on this a billion cubic me . 7 , former suff' d a serious
principle and ted it periodically with other accident during t, tion. "Lit C,ampos",
development tivities of the natural potential, for the whose hydraulic ts c( tecl to tha,t f "t)r6s" by
benefit of th'e people. mean:; of an ali, ation in8
months with tion, using available
The ar,ea actuation of the DNOCS, based on the as a result of the t of 1582. ln '"General
frequency of droughts, /s established bV law and Samp,aio Dam" equipment ,used for
modified wit'h passage of time. Since 19ffi, however, compitction of ?mentsb y Dl lj for the
the figuret delineates it, known as the "Drought first tlime. "Pereir 'randa" (Pen ) and
Polygon'", ts a discontinuity as a result of the "Fran,cisco Saboia" Ct'uz')a re ou tanding for
enclave f' ',b y the hydrographic basin of the Sdo their importance to t in wthich thct are located.
Francisca, Ri which is under the jurisdiction of the
CODEVlASF" "Engenheiro A :sprcial tion. The
By agree t between the CODEVASF and the design was for an , lined with te slabs
with a spillway in of the nt. lt was
DNOCS, the tter would continue to actuate for same
'c one of three of this ucted in world in the
time in the h' basins of some of tributaries of
decade of 1930a nd i, one which ure,d,a sthe
the Sdo l:ran co River. One case is the Moxotd Fliver others'werer uined first overtlow After more
Valley the Francisco Saboia Dam was than 30 yearso f several o wt;o f up to
construct'ed,,
105c nt of water, the tion of ;small set tsa nd
Geologica'l tingencies oblige the DNOCS to displacent of some lining ;slabs in the
accumula,te ter in reservoirsl ocated in areas of DNOCS consulting ofR tiln" for a
crystalline outcrops and to obtain water by means of verification of the the danq.
wells in regtons.
The North radical
The of adequate construction material,. the modiftications, in coveringo f the
tradition ,and cessibility of less complex technology
slope with rockfill i' to improve s ty and the
and the available labor, particularly during dry construction of a la s,pillway bv
periods, I in earthfill and, occasionally, masonry
'al radial ,gates in the
dams as ,a choice. Only in public works and in
Thu's the charac the pre s outdated
special was mass concrete used.
It is wit,h tl\e of bringing to the attention of the design were ,i'--.
The' smaller i" and "Sant,a Cruz" were
technologTiceilcommunity /b experience in the
victims of extt ods wh,ich augmented
contructit?n0 f in semi-arid regians and the need for
by sutlden increases resulting from rupture of
financial that the DNACS presents this
sixs mall upstream anta C,ruz" ditl resistt he
document to XIV lnternational Congress of Large l
flood, however km izway hsl'ood the
Dams.
overtctpping of l,l0 r,n of over the
There is exceptionalp resented but a lifetime embankment, even the sope was
experienc'e is 7ed in the conception of projects, eroded until vertic in sor,ne pla, s produced
realization o;f and wisdom in solutions, confirrned cavenTs. "Cedro" rcnio (iudin" tituted a
by the behaviour of almost three hundred historttc homage to in the
cluding some which were constructed at North,east. Both are ted in ', "Eugenio
century. Gudin" being lined stone. The da'ms have
'owing
Unfortunatteoccurrences which took place during careit',lly worked curvecl axes which
construcl:ion, as a result of an inadequate water policy, blendeC with their t locat,ion and transformed
are also ted. Small dams located, without them lnto historic d artis c manuments.
adequate 'es, upstream of large reservairs, Rec'ent go ental ' terminations ified the
frequentllt f,ailunder the larger floods, with resulting traditi'onal denomi, tion o, the malority a,fthe;se dams,
damage l'o do stream works. giving then names and politictrl
The D,NC\C was the pioneering authority in the conne,cted with the NOCS and the Nort
construct'ion o large dams, having created the principal To complement d to a public
reservoirs:, not ifically destined for the generation of ample in specialists added with
electrical y, and the greatest number in Brazil. The respect to the N east d thet water on:;ervation
DNOCSw as the forerunner in the country in the,u se progrztm of the D S. lDams ,already on:structed,
of advanced gy in this field. Only two years after those under c tion ahd those under tuotyb y this
'ch
the First ,ln tional Congress of Soil Mechanics and autho,ritya nci those v{illbe shortly c tructed, are
Foundation ineering in 1936, the DNOCS, then the related.
lnspectoria lV, nalde Obras Contra as Secas (National It is hoped that t work 'esente,dh ere lJ the,DNOCS
lnspectors o'f rks to Combate Droughts), install,ed a will contribute to ? tec, Yof in :;emi-arid
soilsa nd cotrc laboratory in Curema, in the interior of regions, especially deve g countne:;.
10
PARTI
TH NORTHEIA STA N
ORTHEAST
Ch?rfcteristicosf thel \lorth
Introducticln It was sought to ume, in explanatoryropics, the
presentation of t ba COfllpOO€nr of the
of Tthhee i nNsertion f; ta f srpoemc iaitlcs h mapotsetr c vounlcneerrnaibnlget hpeo irnetality pnroerothcecaLstpteartnio no rr eriaclhit ilt. Frcgrg rreeaat clalriitteyrt haery
droughts- - w'hih inhibirt egionaldevelopmeannt,d t he work is complement by ta lesa nd illustrart
solutionsin ten d bythe Governmentto overcometh eir For tfrose interestednfu eri nformationith respect
wcoitnhs ewqhuiecnhces; thDeNp uOrCpSos, eofr fo jums titfhyein gtthi rene em opfh aitssis tpor othveid seu,dba jte ctthset rea of e, aw loisrkt o, fw phuibicaCt:idoIln sb ies
predecessorsis, dedicatedto the constructiono f dams supplenrentedb y the ast liography averil in the
official organismsw hi in the regi,o
and the adeq useo f storedw ater.
There is rmuclyet to define in the Northeast,s tarting Geographical
with its own d imitation, which is important for the
generation of tistical indicators. Some refer to the The Northeast is ge phicial reg with an
official N t with its geographical connotation absolute area of -1, 672 z, rruhichc orr ds to
otherst o the of authorityoft he SUDENE,c oincident 18.2o/oo f the surface a rao f rzial nda territ riala reao f
with that of ttre NB. Finallyth erea red atac oncerning 1,il2,2',71k mz( F ig. 1) .
the Semi-Arid r,w hichi sp racticalley quivalentto the
Polygono f Drouhts,a sw ella st hosee xclusiveluyn der
the jurisdicl!ion the DNOCS.U nlesso therwises tated,
informationr pr herein refers to the more all
inclusivere gion ndert he controlo f the SUDENE.
The climilte a successivec ontrast between tftre
inclemency of Jolg droughts and the ecological
tranquilityw hichis favourablet o the developmento f lite
and constitu ; the main challenge to the
Northeasterner.Their complete adaptation to threir
habitatf ollowrst exampleo f the inhabitantso f other
latitudesw here people have adapted themselves to
the rigors of blli ardsa nd freezingc onditions.
This is shornrno be true as the Northeasta s the most
denselyp opulilt semi-aridr egion in the world.
Evena slighrtr uationo f the naturalr esourceso f the
region sho'ws e correctness of this attitude. lt is
necessary to optimizet he use of the favorable
factors and dirn ish the effects of the unfavorable.
The unpr ness of man and lack of means to
overcome tlhe tic adversities,i n order to exploit his
land, gives th Northeast a recessive economic
predicament vv profound social repercussionsT. he
integrated devel pment of this region was originally
limited to the ;olution of the immediate effects oi
periodicc lirnatic amrtres.
The severe cl ghts motivatedg overnmentst o reach
a solution for t Northeasternp roblem, includingt he rxisq m
creationo f s;peci institutionsl.t was in thisw ay that the vza
DNOCSw as f rd, initiallya s an aidinga nd latera s a 6nASrL
developrnentf ru
This chapter as includedt o give a generaiv isiont o
those who do t know the region and to give a better
IfrTER
understandiing the water conservationp rogram of the ES€ivotYtIErTo oo xoR!f,sTe
DNOCS and t technologicalo ptions for its dams, lx RECffitOS rATffiAts
adapted to rthe al and circunstantiacl onditions. Figure | - Brazilian Nort - Location
