Agua Viva Reservoir (E. J. Aguerrevere)
Project sheet
- Sector
- Water
- Client
- MARNR — Ministerio del Ambiente y de los Recursos Naturales Renovables
- Location
- Motatán River, ~30 km from Valera, Trujillo State, Venezuela
- Year
- 1994
- Vialpa Role
- Main tunnel repair, gate station and dam completion
Project overview
The Agua Viva Reservoir is the most important hydraulic work in Trujillo State, located on the Motatán River at the intersection of the Pan-American Highway with the Maracaibo–Valera road. Construction was paralyzed for years (1972–1992), during which the river was diverted through the tunnel, causing destruction of its bed due to sediment abrasion. The main tunnel — 5.40 meters in diameter and 500 meters long — was repaired and a gate station was built inside it. The reservoir was completed by Constructora Vialpa, S.A. and put into service in 1994.
The Challenge
Rehabilitate a main tunnel damaged by years of sediment abrasion after two decades of paralysis, restore the river bed and complete the earth dam to bring the reservoir into operation after more than 20 years of unfinished work.
Vialpa Scope
Repair of the main tunnel 5.40 m Ø × 500 m; construction of the gate station inside the tunnel; restoration of the Motatán River bed; and completion of the earth dam with inner sealing core on rock foundation.
Engineering / Construction Approach
Comprehensive intervention on a paralyzed project: isolation of the tunnel to repair bed abrasion, installation of the gate station within the existing conduit, and construction of the earth dam with sealing core to ensure stability and storage of 156.4 million m³.
Operational Constraints
Construction paralyzed during 1972–1992 with structural tunnel damage from prolonged river diversion; river bed destroyed by sediment abrasion required restoration prior to dam completion.
Technical Highlights
- Earth dam 35 m high and 250 m long — 750,000 m³ of dam volume
- Reservoir capacity: 156,400,000 m³ over 1,580 ha surface area
- Repaired main tunnel: 5.40 m Ø × 500 m with internal gate station
- Most important hydraulic work in Trujillo State — in service since 1994
Key Quantities
Photographic archive and field execution
Original photographic field documentation of road execution, structures, concrete barriers and earthmoving by Constructora Vialpa.
Steel girder access bridge to intake tower mounted on reinforced concrete cylindrical piers within Agua Viva Reservoir
Free-discharge 245 m³/s spillway chute paved with reinforced concrete slabs and lateral training walls
Intake tower and gate station with perimeter coarse trashracks, hoist gantry and operational control framework
Service and pedestrian access walkway with electro-welded steel grating and safety handrails leading to the intake work
