The vice-governor of the Province, Gisela Scaglia, and the Minister of Public Works of Santa Fe, Lisandro Enrico, toured the works being carried out on the Garello Embankment, located in Colastiné Norte of the provincial capital. The works, which require an investment of more than $ 16,000 million, include the reconstruction of the wet slope and the protection of the bed, with a blanket of concrete blocks attached to a geotextile blanket, designed to curb the floods of the Colastiné River.
During the tour, Scaglia highlighted "the importance of this work for the defence of Greater Santa Fe. It is very important to us because we are protecting the entire Colastiné area from floods with a defence as needed. It is the first time that there has been an embankment of these characteristics. It is a very important engineering work, each one of the concrete blankets was placed by specialised divers under the river to hold it in case there is a flood. In this area on the Colastiné River there is a lot of water pressure, that's why the embankment was built here.
"This work was long awaited by the neighbours. Historically there was a demand in this area for this work. We are happy to be the government that can do it, make it happen and, above all, know that we are preventing it. We don't know if it will be our turn, hopefully we will never have to use it or make it a necessity. But we must be prepared, and we are carrying out many water works in the province, so that there are defences, containment and water management that can give families peace of mind", concluded the vice-governor.
In full progress
For his part, Enrico explained that "the work consists of preventing the Colastiné River and the Ubajay River from eroding and wearing away this area and endangering the entire population that lives here. For this reason, the Government of Santa Fe built a protective work by raising the land. This was topped with a geotextile blanket underneath and cement blocks on top to prevent water erosion".
The work is currently "74% complete. We still must get to the most complicated point, which is the water intake of Aguas Santafesinas S A (ASSA). Originally the idea was to remove it, but due to ASSA's operational needs, we have to keep it," concluded the Minister of Public Works.
Work details
The Garello Embankment is part of the works that the provincial government is carrying out in the Metropolitan Area of the city of Santa Fe to reinforce the defence system. Its objective is to protect the defence embankment from fluvial erosion. Once the embankment was formed, the wet slope was covered with a blanket of concrete blocks attached to a geotextile blanket that prevents the current and the waves from carrying away the soil that forms the embankment. The blankets cover an area of approximately 17,500 square metres and, in addition, a 100-metre concrete casting wall and an anchoring beam for the blankets were built.
