Almudevar dam (Huesca)

The Almudévar dam, which is part of the High Aragón irrigation regulation project, is being built by Lantania, in conjunction with Sacyr, Vías y Construcciones and Sogeosa.

This hydraulic infrastructure has a storage capacity of 170 cubic hectometres and will regulate the flows of the Gállego and Cinca rivers, through the intake in the Monegros canal, in order to increase the water supply in the High Aragón irrigation system. The Almudévar dam closes with two “all-in-one” type loose material dams, which will flood more than 1,152 hectares, and its main function is to meet irrigation demands, also allowing the generation of electricity while the water from the reservoir is being released.

The east dam, located in the municipality of Huesca city, will be 3.9 km long and will have a maximum height of 26 m above ground level.

The west dam will be 46 metres high and 2.4 kilometres long. It will contain the under sluice, intakes, pumping and turbines; it will be also connected to the Monegros Canal, from which water will be supplied to fill the dam.

Some 7.5 million cubic metres of materials will be used between the two dams, mostly clays.

The supply line, with a length of 1,300 metres, starts from the Monegros canal and will transport the water to a reversible pumping/turbine station, a propulsion that, crossing the body of the west dam, will end at a 60-metre-high intake tower. In addition, the project includes the construction of the pumping-turbine station building, an outdoor electrical substation, a reservoir spillway and accesses, among others.

The pumping station is configured with six pumps plus a seventh standby pump The design flow rate of the pumping station is 24 m³/s, which will be transported to the reservoir through two parallel (reversible) pipes of 2,500 mm in diameter. Two turbines will be installed in the same building as the pumping station to generate electricity from the water released from the Almudévar dam.
The control of possible seepage in the impermeable mass of this dam will be achieved by using a slightly inclined chimney drain, followed by a footing drain on the ground, which will allow a controlled outlet to the outside.