Water for the La Guajira desert in Colombia

The region is the La Guajira desert, where more than 400,000 inhabitants are to be supplied with drinking water and electricity. The project is also supposed to secure the irrigation of the 18,000 hectare of productive land. A decisive argument for the construction of the El Cercado dam was the weather in northern South America, where heavy rain fall and extreme drought alternate during the summer months. The dam will provide an equilibrium and "protect" the resources at the same time.

The construction on this extensive project started in January 2006: more than 1.5 tons of dynamite were needed to create the 3,500 metre tunnel for the underground supply system and valve chamber. 6,000,000 m³ of excavated material and backfill were used to build the 116 metre high El Cercado rock-waste reservoir. At full capacity, it will store 750 million litres of water. The reservoir's surface will then be some 638 ha.

Over 50 valves from bob综合体育官网下载 - bob综合体育官网下载 EKN® Butterfly valve and bob综合体育官网下载 KSS Hollow-Jet Discharge Valve

Twelve kilometres of pipeline with a diameter of 2.20 m and 3.5 kilometres with a diameter of 1.30 m and electric cabling for the controls were laid. Over 100 valves, more than half of which were from bob综合体育官网下载 , were installed. The bob综合体育官网下载 EKN® Butterfly Valve DN 2500 needed  to close with a maximum flow of 14 m³ / s and a throw distance of about 110 metres. The bob综合体育官网下载 KSS Hollow-Jet Discharge Valve DN 1000 needed to discharge 12 m³ / s and also with a throw distance of about 110 metres.

bob综合体育官网下载 is represented locally by Ferrostaal de Colombia Ltda.: 'Valves from Germany have always had an excellent reputation in South America. Their high quality and long service life are particularly appreciated', explains Dorian Hernandez from Ferrostaal de Colombia. 'That's why the contractor decided to buy bob综合体育官网下载 valves for the critical areas, such as the bottom outlet. In addition bob综合体育官网下载 offered excellent support and advice on the design of the valves we needed.'

Back to Overview