"No responsible company would build a dam at this site without first mapping it very carefully," says geologist Brian Holland, technical director of Belize Minerals Limited.

Holland recently advised Belize authorities that the geological assessment prepared by Montreal-based AMEC is wrong and should not be used as a basis for the dam’s design and construction. 

Fortis, a Newfoundland-based billion-dollar corporation, started clearing the dam site last month but AMEC’s assessment — funded by the Canadian government — is flawed, according to Holland. The assessment, he says:

– wrongly identifies bedrock at the dam site as granite when the area is known to be made up of sandstones interbedded with soft shales which have poor load- bearing capacity;

– fails to report geological faults and fractures in the project area, including the 30-kilometre long Comma Cairn Fault which is large enough to be visible from satellite images of Belize;

– fails to include a geological map of the area to be flooded by the dam, an area known for its extensive network of limestone caverns that could drain water out of the dam’s reservoir and render it useless.

Without an accurate geological assessment, Fortis can expect problems and increased costs during the design and construction phases, explains Holland in a recent interview with Probe International.

"The weight of the proposed 50-metre high dam could compress the soft shales and potentially lead to structural damage or dam failure if there is bedrock subsidence or seismic activity triggered. The implications of that, economically, environmentally, and with potential cost [to] human life in villages downstream, are immeasurable."

Last November, Holland and a second geologist were hired by Fortis subsidiary, Belize Electricity Limited, to examine rock samples taken at the dam site by AMEC’s geotechnical consultants, Swiss Boring. No granite was found in any of the samples so Holland recommended that the geological maps and bedrock testing be redone before proceeding with the dam’s construction.

Holland finds AMEC’s claim that the dam site is granite an "inconceivable" mistake, since geologists and mining companies have mapped the area since the 1950s and all maps indicate sandstones, shales, and limestone.

Gráinne Ryder of Probe International says the Canadian government should take immediate action. "Fortis is courting disaster if it goes ahead with the dam based on AMEC’s faulty assessment. The new minister responsible for CIDA, Susan Whelan, should immediately recall this report and notify the Belize authorities that its conclusions about the dam’s viability and cost are not valid."

Fortis maintains it needs the US$30 million Chalillo dam to store water for its 25-megawatt Mollejon facility which barely produces power in the dry season because there is too little water in the river.

If completed, the Chalillo dam would flood a 22-kilometre stretch of the Macal River Valley near the Belize-Guatemala border. The area provides critical habitat for rare wildlife, including jaguar, Baird’s tapir, Morelet’s crocodile, ocelot, howler monkey and a population of 60 to 100 scarlet macaws.

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For more information, photos, and video footage, CONTACT:
Gráinne Ryder, Policy Director,
Probe International, Toronto, Canada
Tel. 416 964 9223 ext.228