In a Civil Defense meeting held last Saturday, before representatives of security forces and city institutions, local and provincial government officials, council members, and legislators from different political parties, Mayor Enrique Cresto requested that the Salto Grande Joint Technical Commission take extreme measures to ensure the river level in Concordia does not exceed 14 meters until the lake level reaches 36 meters, taking into account that it is five meters below the levels reached in December 2015.
The request bears the signatures of Mayor Cresto and Vice Mayor Armando Gay, with the adherence and support of municipal and provincial officials, council members, and institutions that make up the Social Emergency Council, along with representatives of groups of residents affected by the floods.
In the grounds of the letter addressed to CTM, the municipal president requests that the Hydroelectric Complex have "the utmost responsibility in regulating the reservoir level, and that the maneuvers executed these days not only comply with what is established in the operation protocols but also, and mainly, take into consideration the enormous suffering that the flooding represents for hundreds of families".
A definitive solution for 500 families
At the end of the meeting, in statements to the media, Cresto stressed that "our role is to defend the interests of the entire community of Concordia that lives downstream from the dam, which are the families that suffer every time there is a flood".
"We have made great progress on concrete solutions for a very complex problem. We had 350 families below the 14-meter mark, who are from very vulnerable sectors, of which 100 have already been relocated to the Toyota housing in Agua Patito. And there are the other 250 homes that will be built with funding from the National Government", the municipal president detailed.
And he recalled that "when President Mauricio Macri came in December 2015, we informed him that the problem affects approximately 500 families. Because these are the 350 families for whom a definitive solution is being rapidly advanced, plus those in the historic neighborhoods, such as Puerto and Velez Sarsfield, who are homeowners, and who represent a different situation", he pointed out.
"We must advance in a project that brings a fundamental solution for all the families in these neighborhoods. Although the company that is carrying out the expansion of Defensa Sur, which finishes its work in the month of August, has to prepare a preliminary project to be debated and agreed upon with the residents and the institutions of the city, it is important that the different State agencies are committed to working together, which will allow us in a few years to provide a definitive solution for everyone", concluded the mayor.
(In the attached images, facsimile of the Letter)