Severe Drought Leads to Damming of the Indio River

Cargo ships wait to go through the Panama Canal (Photo: AP News: Matias Delacroix)

The Panama Canal, a critical waterway for global trade, is experiencing a severe drought due to the El Nino phenomenon, costing Panama millions of dollars. This drought has led to a significant drop in water in the Gatun Lake; the water source that powers the canal lock system and a water source for residents in Panama City and Colon. 

The drought follows the El Nino climate phenomenon and has caused an 8% decrease in precipitation. El Nino triggers a warming of the surface temperatures of oceans within the western hemisphere, roughly occurring every two to seven years. Although climate change has augmented the effects of the El Nino phenomenon, studies show that the drought is not a direct result of climate change. 

As a solution, Panama is looking to dam off the Indio River to increase the volume of water in the canal. However, the damming of the Indio River would lead to the displacement of 2000 people who live in communities along the river and rely on it for transportation and water usage. Most residents are opposed to the project, although few see the damming as an opportunity to create jobs and increase access to resources such as electricity. 

The Panama Canal was finished in 1914 and around 5% of global trade depends on it. Normally, the Panama Canal sees 36 to 38 ships pass through daily, but due to the lack of water needed to operate the locks, this number has decreased to 32. The lock systems that the canal uses were built in the 1900s and 50 million gallons of water are needed for a single ship to pass through. The lock system has virtually remained the same up until 2016 when the large Neo-Panamaz locks were built to conserve water usage, saving 60% of the water compared to the old locks. The two lock systems are used now, supplementing one another—labor and expense considerations do not make total removal worth the investment. 

Although the public has supported expanding the canal's water source, in 2006, Panama passed a regulation that restricted redefining the canal's boundaries. Since then, the Panama Supreme Court recently passed a decision to redefine this regulation to allow for a re-interpretation of the canal's boundaries, allowing them the opportunity to dam the Indio River. 

Locals along the Indio River (Photo: AP News: Matias Delacroix)

The Panama Canal Administration has traveled along the river to understand public opinion—although the damming will not be publicly voted on, a favorable public consensus is ideal to carry out the project. A decision about the project will be made next year. If the Canal Administration decides to dam off the Indio River,  it will take years to finish and billions of dollars.