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Physical and chemical post-dam alterations in the Jamari River, a hydroelectric-developed river of the Brazilian Amazon

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Abstract

The regulation of the Jamari River advanced peak floods by 1–2 months and increased dry-season discharges from 60 to 200 m3 s−1, resulting in water levels approximately 1 m above those recorded before regulation. Daily variation in water level associated with fluctuations in electricity production by the dam propagated to the lower reaches of the tributary Candeias River. Dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature, pH, and conductivity measured over 1.5 years on three locations along the regulated and two free-flowing rivers indicated important alterations in the case of oxygen concentrations. DO levels shifted from saturated (7–8 mg l−1) during the flood season (when the spillways were open releasing epilimnetic water) to hypoxic (1.5–3 mg l−1) during the dry season (when the floodgates were closed and only hypolimnetic water used to run the turbines was feeding the river). Fluctuations in water level and variation in dissolved oxygen tended to be greater at the site closest to the dam, gradually attenuating downstream. Mitigation of the downstream effects of river regulation would require modifications in the operation of the dam.

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  1. João Paulo Viana

    Present address: Sociedade Civil Mamirauá, Caixa Postal 38, Tefé, Amazonas, 69470-000, Brazil

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  1. Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Florida, 7922 NW 71st Street, Gainesville, FL, 32653, U.S.A

    João Paulo Viana

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Viana, J.P. Physical and chemical post-dam alterations in the Jamari River, a hydroelectric-developed river of the Brazilian Amazon. Hydrobiologia 472, 235–247 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016389919574

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