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Case Study Title
PANAMA – THE MANAGEMENT OF THE PANAMA CANAL WATERSHED (PCW), CASE #5 This case study is about the Panama Canal Watershed, its development in legal, technical and social terms, the problems encountered, and how an Integrated Water Resources Management approach could help it to be managed in a more sustainable way. ABSTRACT Description The Panama Canal Watershed (PCW) was developed when the Panama Canal was constructed (1904-1914). The PCW unites the basins of the Chagres and Grande Rivers into a single hydraulic system. The Chagres and Grande Rivers drain into the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, respectively. Damming the Chagres River provides water to operate the canal locks. By the mid 1930’s, an additional lake had been created in the upper basin of the Chagres River to increase the water storage capacity of the system. In 1999, the formal limits of the PCW were established by law and segments of the Indio, Caño Sucio and Coclé del Norte River Basins were added. All these rivers drain separately into the Atlantic Ocean to the north-west of the PCW. Under the Panama Canal Treaty (1977) the Republic of Panama was obliged to provide sufficient water for the operation of the Canal and for cities in the area. This led to the creation of several national parks, the promotion of sustainable development activities, and the implementation of base-line studies, all with support from USAID (United States Agency for International Development). A Panama Canal Authority (PCA) was created by Constitutional reform in 1994 which granted legal obligations and rights to manage the PCW. -
Project JYP-1104 SALT INTRUSION in GATUN LAKE a Major Qualifying
Project JYP-1104 SALT INTRUSION IN GATUN LAKE A Major Qualifying Project submitted to the Faculty of WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science By Assel Akhmetova Cristina Crespo Edwin Muñiz March 11, 2012 Jeanine D. Plummer, Major Advisor Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering 1. Gatun Lake 2. Salt Intrusion 3. Panama Canal Abstract The expansion of the Panama Canal is adding another lock lane to the canal, allowing passage of larger ships. Increases in the number of transits and the size of the locks may displace more salt from the oceans into the freshwater lake, Gatun Lake, which is a drinking water source for Panama City. This project evaluated future salinity levels in Gatun Lake. Water quality and hydrometeorological data were input into a predictive hydrodynamic software package to project salinity levels in the lake after the new lock system is completed. Modeling results showed that salinity levels are expected to remain in the freshwater range. In the event that the lake becomes brackish, the team designed a water treatment plant using electrodialysis reversal for salt removal and UV light disinfection. ii Executive Summary The Panama Canal runs from the Pacific Ocean in the southeast to the Atlantic Ocean in the northwest over a watershed area containing the freshwater lake, Gatun Lake. The canal facilitates the transit of 36 ships daily using three sets of locks, which displace large volumes of water into and out of Gatun Lake. The displacement of water has the potential to cause salt intrusion into the freshwater Gatun Lake. -