Hydropower Plants Located at Grande River Basin in Brazil: Critical Analysis of Demands for Electric Energy versus Consumptive Uses of Water

Abstract

The Grande River Basin accounts for 8% of total Brazilian installed electricity generation capacity, or 7,800 MW. Regarding conflicts over the use of water resources in this river basin, 35 conflict situations were identified and reported, which concern: pollution of water bodies by the discharge of sanitary sewage; diffuse pollution from agriculture and livestock; high uptake for irrigation; groundwater overexploitation in urban areas; among others. The Grande River Basin is in the southeastern region of Brazil, in the Paraná River Basin region which, together with the Paraguay and Uruguay river basins, form La Plata Basin. It is a watershed of significant territorial area, with more than 143,000 km2. With a population of nine million, the Grande River Basin is made up of 393 municipalities, 325 have an area entirely included in the basin, which proves its greatness as a watershed that includes two important Brazilian states: Minas Gerais, to the north, with 60.2% of the drainage area of the basin, and São Paulo, to the south, with 39.8% of the area. Fifteen hydropower plants, constructed between 1960 and 2002, are present along this river basin. This paper details changes in governance of hydropower plants reservoir levels, used for regularization of inflows, along period between years of 2008 and 2018, in order to analyze limits to energy generation, imposed by increasing consumptive uses of water.