Field class
Alexandre Cunha Costa (UNILAB, Brasil), Jader de Oliveira Santos (UFC) and Christelle Gramaglia (INRAe, G’EAU, França)
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This class includes a historical and sociogeographical visit to the metropolitan region of Fortaleza, along the Pacoti river, to understand how water territories have been defined and (re)configured through history, based on existing sources, but also on the water infrastructures of large and small. Our field visit will cover part of the course of the Pacoti River, going from the dam to the sea, to understand, in addition to the importance of infrastructure, the different social and ecological values of its waters, as well as social representations, through discussions and cartography Social.
Explanations about the history of infrastructures aimed at supplying the city of Fortaleza.
01
The water supply function for the city of Fortaleza
The Pacoti River was historically valued as a resource to guarantee the water supply of the city of Fortaleza. The Acarape do Meio Dam (Eugênio Gudin Dam) was the first system to supply the city of Fortaleza. It was built by the National Department of Works Against Droughts (Dnocs). With construction beginning in 1909, the dam suffered interruptions and modifications to the original project and was only completed in 1924. Thus, it is a century-old dam. It is located in Redenção, 75km from the capital. The Pacoti River dam, downstream of the Acarape do Meio Reservoir, was built in 1981, forming, together with the Riachão Reservoir, an integrated system intended to supply water to Fortaleza. The Pacoti-Riachão system was connected to the Gavião Dam, which was built in 1973 in the Cocó River Basin, still in 1981, thus implementing the first water transfer system between river basins in the Brazilian Northeast. Due to the effects of the 1992-1993 drought, a new transfer system would follow. The Pacoti River and its dam were then “integrated” into a complex system of water transfer, storage and distribution infrastructure for the city of Fortaleza, where the main donor basin would become the Jaguaribe River and the main water transfer channel , the Workers' Channel (1993).
02
The ecological value of the Pacoti River
In addition to this essential function in supplying the capital, the Pacoti River has a very important ecological value, as evidenced by the creation of an Environmental Protection Area for its mangroves in the lower part of the river. For local communities living around the APA, the river is also a resource for traditional fishing activities and tourist development. This same river suffers from the impact of water infrastructure upstream, pollution from urban sources downstream and conflicts of use and interests, between the various actors who use the waters of the Pacoti River.
Discussions and use of social cartography to reflect on the Pacoti River.
03
The mouth of the Pacoti River
Understanding the dynamics of environmental processes that occur throughout the entire length of the river basin and their consequences in the Sabiaguaba region and on the coast of Fortaleza.
