Río Limón Pág. 193 Río Duey-Yuma Pág

Boca de Yuma

En el recorrido que hicimos para elaborar este libro tuvimos la oportunidad de reflexionar, una vez más, sobre los valores y beneficios de nuestros ríos, la necesidad imperiosa de conservarlos y de aprovechar las grandes inversiones hechas por el Estado dominicano relacionadas con el agua.

Desde los inicios de los años sesenta se han construido 36 presas por unos US$2,162 millones, 2,040 kilómetros de canales de riego, diques, tomas de agua, tuberías de acueductos, plantas de tratamiento y otras similares para almacenar agua, potabilizarla y conducirla hasta los usuarios. En la mayoría de los casos se confía en que en esas construcciones el suministro del preciado líquido sea más o menos constante, salvo casos de fuerza mayor. Aunque algunos sectores productivos y segmentos de la población ya confrontan dificultades para conseguir agua en la cantidad y calidad que requieren, muchos continúan sus actividades domésticas diarias y sus inversiones privadas, sin pensar en la posibilidad de que la creciente demanda de agua y su decreciente disponibilidad arriesguen su bienestar y las inversiones públicas y privadas. Otros ven el agua como líquido indispensable, pero la relación entre ese recurso y los ríos y, principalmente la importancia de ambos y de los bosques, escapa a su preocupación. O simplemente no entienden esa relación en su justa dimensión.

Las inversiones y obras citadas más arriba no se han hecho por capricho. Los valores y beneficios de los ríos son evidentes, algunos cuantificables y otros con resultados patentes. La agricultura es uno de los sectores más dependientes y a la vez más beneficiados, y dentro de este renglón se encuentra el arroz, del cual se siembran cerca de 1,300,000 tareas (82,000 hectáreas) dos veces al año, gracias a que el 98 por ciento de los terrenos recibe agua de riego. Datos del Banco Central de la República Dominicana registraron una producción de arroz en cáscara en el año 2021 de 1,006,394 toneladas métricas, por un valor equivalente a US$393 millones. La producción anual de habichuelas fue de 38,335 toneladas métricas por un valor de US$53.9 millones y la de plátano, para el mismo período, de 2,634 millones de unidades, valoradas en US$427.82 millones. A esos valores se suman las exportaciones de 23 millones de cajas de guineos, por un monto aproximado de US$300 millones, las exportaciones de aguacate y mango, cercanas a los US$100 millones, la producción de 5.7 millones de quintales de tomate industrial, por un valor aproximado de US$22 millones, y muchos rubros más, que sin el agua de los ríos no se producirían.

Otro sector beneficiado, con valores cuantificables, es la producción hidroeléctrica, muy importante para que el país siga liberándose de los combustibles fósiles, del gasto en monedas extranjeras y disminuya la huella de carbono. La República Dominicana cuenta con 36 presas, con una capacidad aproximada de almacenamiento de agua de 2,189 millones de metros cúbicos. De ellas, 27 poseen equipos de generación hidroeléctrica, con una potencia instalada de 631.86 megavatios (13 por ciento) del parque de generación total del país, que en 2021 produjeron cerca de 1,360 gigavatios hora, un siete por ciento de la energía neta abastecida en el Sistema Nacional Interconectado (SIN), con un valor de US$200 millones, que incluye el valor de la producción, potencia firme y el servicio de regulación de frecuencia, según los datos obtenidos del Organismo Coordinador del SIN.

En todas las 27 presas con capacidades hidroeléctricas instaladas el agua turbinada es reutilizada en canales de riego o devuelta al cauce del río. En varias es usada en acueductos, antes y después de ser turbinadas y, en algunos canales de riego alimentados

por los embalses de las presas, el agua conducida es turbinada y después devuelta a esos canales. Las nueve presas restantes almacenan agua para la irrigación, en mayor o menor escala. En general, todas las presas mantienen reservas de agua para los tiempos de escasez y muchas se construyeron con el propósito adicional de controlar las inundaciones en las zonas bajas. En varias de ellas se practican deportes acuáticos y se crían peces en jaulas, actividad que sustenta la vida de muchos comunitarios.

En varios lugares del país los intentos de construir presas han causado protestas de algunos sectores de la población, basados en preocupaciones por los desplazamientos de asentamientos humanos y posibles daños al medioambiente. Sin dudas, estas preocupaciones deben tomarse en cuenta al momento de identificar los lugares para ubicar las presas y su diseño. Sin embargo, es necesario que los pros y contras de sus construcciones se hagan mediante análisis integrados, que incluyan diversas disciplinas: a quiénes favorecen, cuál será la disponibilidad de agua en esa región en el mediano y largo plazo y cuál es y podría ser en el futuro la condición de la cobertura vegetal de la posible cuenca de captación. Lo peor que podría pasar es posponer la construcción de una presa por malentendidos y tener que retomarla años más tarde, casi a nivel de emergencia y enfrentar costos mayores.

En el diseño y operación de una presa, el caudal ecológico debe garantizarse para minimizar los posibles trastornos del área intervenida. Por otro lado, el mantenimiento de una cobertura arbórea en la cuenca de captación de agua de una presa es esencial para su operación; beneficia a todas las agencias que manejan ese recurso y beneficia al país. La escogencia de lugares para construir una presa debe ser una oportunidad para que esas agencias inviertan recursos económicos para aumentar la cobertura arbórea, antes de la construcción, y mantenerla después.

Hay muchos proyectos interesantes en curso de presas y saneamiento para aprovechar las aguas de varios ríos. Como el imperativo es almacenar agua, deberían aumentarse las construcciones de pequeñas presas. En el icónico Ozama, los mayores esfuerzos se han concentrado en la conservación de la cuenca. Cuando su reforestación avance, se cree que las aguas de ese río deberían represarse antes de llegar al municipio de Yamasá. No solo para aprovecharlas más, sino también para controlar las constantes inundaciones de las zonas bajas. Por igual, en sus sectores altos, las aguas cristalinas del río Guanuma deberían aprovecharse más. Otros valores y beneficios de los ríos son más difíciles de cuantificar, pero no menos importantes: el valor paisajístico, la pesca, principalmente en los estuarios, las actividades recreativas y turísticas en balnearios y en las corrientes rápidas, el sustento de la flora y la fauna, y mucho más.

Ante todos esos valores y beneficios el camino es claro: no debemos permitir que se repitan los errores del pasado, cuando los intereses comerciales o la ignorancia de algunas personas causaron la depredación de la mayoría de nuestras cuencas hidrográficas, contaminaron los ríos y hasta los secaron. Gracias a la continuidad de acciones de varias organizaciones gubernamentales y privadas hemos avanzado, pero debemos seguir actuando con determinación, conscientes de que revertir las costumbres, los hábitos de depredación del medio ambiente y los daños acumulados requiere de mayores esfuerzos e inversiones económicas continuas.

¿Qué hacer? Los detalles de un plan de manejo y conservación de nuestros ríos y cuencas hidrográficas escapan a la naturaleza de este libro. Solo enfatizamos aquí la necesidad de mantener la integridad de las áreas protegidas y su biodiversidad, principalmente las de montañas, reforzar los programas con enfoques integrados para el manejo de las cuencas hidrográficas y sus alrededores, que incluirán, entre otros asuntos, actividades de reforestación, apoyo a alternativas de producción para los moradores de las cuencas y las compensaciones ambientales, tanto monetarias como en servicios. Debe considerarse como prioritaria la reforestación de las cuencas de captación de agua de las presas del país.

Para actuar, es necesario admitir que una sola institución no tiene la capacidad de resolver los problemas de esos espacios vitales, sino que se debe buscar la participación organizada de sus habitantes y de las agencias gubernamentales y no gubernamentales que inciden en la zona.

Es esperanzador que dentro de la responsabilidad social y el objetivo del desarrollo sostenible de varias empresas del país se esté priorizando la conservación del medio ambiente y los recursos naturales, así como el apoyo a comunidades claves. Se destaca la participación del Banco Popular Dominicano y su casa matriz, Grupo Popular, que por más dos décadas ha estado apoyando el Plan Sierra, alianza público-privada pionera en el establecimiento de sistemas integrados de producción, manejos forestales apropiados y servicios comunitarios, los cuales han mejorado la cobertura boscosa y la red hídrica de La Sierra, vital

para mantener el caudal del Yaque del Norte y el suministro de agua para riego, agua potable y la producción de energía hidroeléctrica.

El Plan Sierra ha servido de inspiración y modelo para que otras organizaciones, como la Fundación Sur Futuro, la Junta de Desarrollo de San José de Ocoa, el Plan Yaque, Inc, y la Asociación para el Desarrollo de Santiago (APEDI) estén ejecutando acciones similares en los territorios donde inciden. El Estado dominicano, por medio de la Comisión Presidencial para el Ordenamiento y Manejo de la Cuenca del Río Yaque del Norte, apoya también acciones en beneficio de ese río.

El sector empresarial tiene una incidencia clave en la agenda pública en materia medioambiental, especialmente, a través de asociaciones como la Red Nacional de Apoyo Empresarial a la Protección Ambiental (Ecored), que busca sensibilizar a las empresas y a la sociedad en general de la necesidad de incorporar una cultura de responsabilidad social y desarrollo sostenible que preserve nuestra biodiversidad y sus recursos naturales, promoviendo para ello alianzas en la búsqueda del desarrollo económico, social y ambiental del país.

El Banco Popular es uno de los fundadores y auspiciadores de Ecored, así como también presta apoyo a un gran número de otras iniciativas en este ámbito, en conjunto con la Fundación Popular, la entidad responsable de la agenda social del Grupo Popular. En este sentido, han financiado un gran número de iniciativas comunitarias que propenden a mejorar el medio ambiente y los recursos naturales, así como dotar de vías de progreso a las comunidades. Se destacan el establecimiento de microhidroeléctricas en el sur del país, que traen energía eléctrica y agua potable a muchos asentamientos, y la construcción de lagunas artificiales para depurar aguas residuales en zonas ribereñas del Yaque del Norte, con métodos orgánicos que disminuyen la posibilidad de contaminación de muchos ríos de la zona y aumentan las condiciones de salubridad de los comunitarios beneficiados.

Otra iniciativa de gran importancia ha sido el respaldo del Grupo Popular a los Fondos de Agua de Santo Domingo y del Yaque del Norte, entidades conformadas por diversas empresas e instituciones dominicanas, como el Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, la Corporación de Acueducto y Alcantarillado (CAASD), Ecored, la Fundación Propagás, Bepensa, Coca Cola Company, Fundación Popular, Fundación Sur Futuro, Sociedad Industrial Dominicana , S.A., Grupo Universal, Centro para el Desarrollo Agropecuario y Forestal (Cedaf) y algunas extranjeras como el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) y otras. Por medio de un fondo fiduciario apoyan técnica y financieramente a los ejecutores de acciones de reforestación, manejos de cobertura vegetal y servicios comunitarios, que benefician la producción y la calidad del agua de los ríos Ozama, Isabela y varios de sus afluentes, y del río Yaque del Norte y sus afluentes. Estos dos fondos pueden ser referentes para el establecimiento de otros similares en cuencas individuales prioritarias o grupos de cuencas cercanas.

Dentro de las acciones del plan de manejo y conservación de ríos y cuencas hidrográficas, no menos importante es la educación ambiental. Esta debe llegar a toda la sociedad y ser predicada en las escuelas, calles, áreas rurales y universidades por personas conocedoras del tema, que sepan comunicar con sencillez, entre otros asuntos, el ABC del ciclo del agua y, principalmente, por qué sin una cobertura arbórea adecuada en las montañas nos quedaremos sin acuíferos y sin ríos, que son redes de vida.

Domingo Marte nació en San Francisco de Macorís, República Dominicana, el 3 de enero de 1939, cerca de la orilla del río Jaya y vivió parte de su niñez y adolescencia en Nagua, frente a la Bahía Escocesa. Graduado de agrónomo en el Instituto Politécnico Loyola, de San Cristóbal en el año 1961, obtuvo su Bachelor of Science en la Universidad de Texas A&M, en 1969, revalidado como Ingeniero Agrónomo de la Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU). En 1973 obtuvo una Maestría en Ciencias Agrícolas en la Universidad de la Florida. Tiene diplomados en Desarrollo Humano, Cinematografía y Fotografía, y ha participado en varios talleres de narrativa.

Laboró para la Secretaría de Estado de Agricultura, la Junta Monetaria del Banco Central de la República Dominicana y The Nature Conservancy. Es asesor voluntario de la Fundación Sur Futuro y del Centro para el Desarrollo Agropecuario y Forestal (Cedaf). Ha escrito cientos de artículos técnicos sobre agricultura, desarrollo rural y medio ambiente. Publicó la novela “Madre de las Aguas” en 1999, más tarde reeditada como “La Sonrisa de la Montaña”. Fue primer premio del concurso literario patrocinado por la Universidad O&M en 2001, con la obra titulada “Recuerdos y Memorias de Nagua”; publicó “Ecos de la Costa”, libro institucional del Banco Popular Dominicano, en el año 2016 y “Frutas en República Dominicana”, obra patrocinada por la Junta Agroempresarial Dominicana (JAD), en 2020. Ha ganado varios premios en los renglones de cuento y fotografía, en los concursos de arte y literatura del Banco Central y en concursos organizados por la Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo.

Christopher Paniagua

Executive Chairman, Banco Popular Dominicano

Our land is one blessed with an extraordinary abundance of natural hydrographic systems, which has, perhaps, led us to assume our rivers have always been and therefore will always be there at our service. We are aware of the importance of the proper management and care of our watersheds. However, our awareness and, more importantly, our practice regarding their treatment and preservation, is still lacking, thereby affecting their sustainability. The need for reforesting our watersheds and educating people in the habits that promote their conservation, penalizing the practices that contribute to their deterioration, and actively pursuing infractions that threaten the sustainability of our natural heritage and its biodiversity are the basic pillars on which we must build a vision of sustainability as a country.

For this reason, Banco Popular Dominicano, together with its parent company, Grupo Popular, and Fundación Popular reaffirm our commitment to aid in the preservation of the treasure that is our Dominican watersheds. With this aim, we engage in multiple initiatives focused on the sanitation of our waters. We encourage the construction of community hydroelectric plants that improve the lives of remote populations, we promote the creation of artificial wetlands that function as a green engineering system to purify contaminated water, we carry out systematic reforestation campaigns with the participation of volunteers and partner organizations in various areas of the country, especially in the areas of influence of our partner, Plan Sierra. This commitment has led us to three decades of sowing and one million trees planted nationwide, a figure we will reach in november 2022.

With this new institutional publication, authored by the outstanding researcher, photographer, and engineer Domingo Marte, and enhanced by the design of Víctor Siladi, we hope to raise awareness of the importance of safeguarding our waters as networks of life. These pages highlight the enormous wealth of opportunities that our rivers represent. Not only for the defense and protection of our flora and fauna, the prosperity of our communities or the generation of clean energy, but also for the promotion of new types of sustainable touristic experiences for visitors, in harmony with the natural environment and biodiversity.

In short, this is a book designed to educate us on the conservation and protection that our ecosystems need and which are required to face the future with well-balanced growth. In addition to this editorial project, as a complement to its valuable content, we are promoting a multimedia product to expand the reach of our corporate message as a Responsible Bank. First, a complete documentary series entitled “Redes de Vida” (Networks of Life), in which, over the course of four episodes, viewers will travel through the main river basins of our country, whose currents will lead them to a greater understanding of their people and their potential, their value and the pressing need to protect them.

Together with the publication and the documentary, we also include a digital part, the mobile application “Dominican Rivers”, which gives users the opportunity to locate, learn details and delve into the characteristics of the waters of our main rivers, while at the same time inspiring them to visit these places, enjoy the hiking trails and richness and diversity of the unique ecological nooks and crannies that our geography has to offer.

Both multimedia products are accessible through the pages of this book, entering the web: www.popularenlinea.com/riosdominicanos Just as rivers are born in the mountains, our communities were born from rivers. Our past depended on them, as does our present and future well-being, currently threatened by the effects of climate change.

Let us all become conscious of this and thrive to live in harmony with our natural resources, as are our rivers, being that the only guarantee of our very existence resides in our connection with these webs of life.

While residing at the newly founded Dominican convent in the town of Puerto Plata, in 1525, almost five hundred years ago, a Spanish priest named Bartolomé de las Casas began to write a great chronicle of the discovery and colonization of America entitled “Historia de las Indias” (“History of the Indies”). In these chronicles as well as in his “Apologetic History of the Indies”, Las Casas expressed his perpetual admiration for the abundance of estuaries, rivers, streams, and ravines sustaining the biological exuberance of the island then known as Hispaniola. In the first of these works there are several pages in which Las Casas describes the geographical and ecological characteristics of the “natural provinces” of the island.

According to this chronicler, “there were in this island of Hispaniola five major kingdoms and five very powerful kings [...]. The one kingdom was called Maguá, the last syllable accented, which means the kingdom of the lowlands. This valley is one of the most illustrious and admirable things in the world [...]. Over thirty thousand rivers and streams enter it, among which twelve are as great as the Ebro and the Duero and the Guadalquivir; and all the rivers that come from the mountain range to the west, which are twenty and twenty-five thousand, are very rich in gold [...]. The king and lord of this kingdom was called Guarionex”.

The objectivity of this obviously hyperbolic paragraph has been questioned by some writers unfamiliar with the hydrographic geography of the island, whose Dominican part, according to the sapient photographer and naturalist Domingo Marte, preserves almost two thousand rivers worthy of mention (1,850 to be precise) after half a millennium of deforestation and degradation of watersheds. Those who are familiar with the western side of this island, where the territory is considerably more deteriorated, know that there are still numerous rivers and streams with running water, despite the desertification of large parts of its territory, and although there is no such tally as the one presented today by Domingo Marte, through empirical observations captured on film, we can be certain that there are more than a thousand estuaries, rivers, streams and creeks carrying water in our neighboring country. The reason why there continues to be water on both sides of the island, despite the disappearance of its smaller streams, is that, on this island territory, rain continues to fall just as it did half a millennium ago, and if today we see fewer rivers (and those we do see are diminished) it is because most of the watersheds have lost their forest cover and therefore can no longer retain water in the same manner they once did.

Frank Moya Pons

This phenomenon can be clearly illustrated by the “simile of the broccoli and the washbasin”, which explains that an intact forest functions hydrologically like a broccoli, retaining the water it receives and releasing it gradually, while a washbasin lets it drain quickly, drying up in a short period of time. Deforested watersheds function like the washbasins and are left drained of water, or with very little, and many of their rivers end up disappearing entirely. That is why thousands of the waterways that Bartolomé de las Casas considered rivers when he saw them bearing water at the beginning of the 16th century have disappeared. For a Spaniard of that time, coming from the Castilian plateau where there were few rivers, the abundance of rivers in a tropical, forested, and humid territory must have been a truly remarkable vision.

Carefully reading Domingo Marte’s text while simultaneously analyzing his revealing photographs (some of impressive beauty and others painfully dramatic due to the poor state of certain Dominican rivers) produces a mixture of emotions difficult to express. The fact that to document the state of these rivers, Domingo Marte dedicated years to hiking each of the river courses he describes, from their source to their mouths, is awe inspiring. I understand the enormity of this task, having had the honor of traveling with him along the course of the Yuna River almost from its source, near Rancho Arriba, to its confluence with the Blanco River. No other Dominican has attempted a feat of the magnitude carried out by Domingo Marte in the compilation of this work, achievement in which he surpasses himself, since he had already embarked upon a similar effort to collect the photos and data used in his impressive tome on Dominican beaches and coasts, also published by Banco Popular Dominicano, under the title “Ecos de la costa. Travesía por el litoral marino dominicano” (Echoes of the coast: Trek along the Dominican Coastline) (2016). For that book Domingo traveled on foot, on the backs of mules and horses, and in helicopters along the entire periphery of the country. This new book has the distinction of leaving the reader with the clear awareness that, no matter how much it rains, we have less and less water available, either because of deforestation or anthropogenic pollution. Marte’s assertions can be backed up with several examples that we see repeated hundreds, if not thousands, of times throughout the country. For example: no one remembers today that where the La Vega export processing zone is located, eighty years ago there was a stream and a lagoon which the locals once used for swimming and fishing. Like this case we can also mention the inexorable agony of other rivers and streams today turned into pastures, garbage dumps or rock beds all over the national territory.

Through his impressive photographs and well-documented texts, Marte sends us a dramatic warning message about the need to proceed urgently with the restoration of those watersheds that are today in danger of losing their water-generating capacity. Domingo Marte employs the beauty of his images and the originality of his photographic eye to draw our attention to the great drama that lies beneath the grandeur of his landscapes and tells us through his lens that, although late, there is still time to prevent the death of the waters.

Science has revealed that life and water are synonymous. Similarly, river systems, as prime conveyors of this essential resource, form networks of life. These waters, flowing day and night across distant expanses, supply the aqueducts that serve homes and industries, irrigate farmlands, generate clean electricity, and give sustenance to riparian flora and fauna. They feed aquifers, provide havens for fisheries, refresh and delight bathers, beautify the landscape, and create spaces for the enjoyment of water sports. Hurricanes and other events may cause rivers to flood, but the likelihood of flooding decreases when watersheds are well covered with vegetation. The availability of usable water in the country is difficult to foretell. However, it is certain that the total potential supply is lower because when much of this water goes to the sea, it is lost through seepage and pollution by humans. In addition, unpredictable climate change has not only disrupted rainfall and drought patterns, but hurricanes and other phenomena have been exacerbated, destroying river sources and storage infrastructure. These phenomena also affect the availability of water. A 2016 report estimates that the Dominican Republic has an average total annual water resources of 25.9 billion cubic meters, of which 91 percent is surface water, that is, rivers, lagoons, and others. Nine percent passes through as subsurface runoff. Regarding the distribution of these resources, agricultural irrigation accounts for an estimated 80 percent of the available water, but with an efficiency level of only 20 percent. Other uses are for human consumption (12 percent), with an estimated use efficiency of 60 percent. The industrial sectors and ecological purposes account for the remainder. Both the previous report and the 2007 National Hydrological Plan, prepared by the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INDRHI), indicate that the total water supply exceeds demand, but that there is a deficit of available infrastructure for its storage. Beyond the estimates of supply and availability, it is palpable that for years the demand for water is increasing in response to population growth, the expansion of agricultural, industrial and tourist activities and, unfortunately, water wastage. In many parts of the country water rationing, as well as conflicts over its distribution and control in urban and, principally, rural areas are already common. In terms of output, if we were to study what has happened that has caused the quantity and quality of water in most of our rivers to dwindle, turning some of them into mere trickles of water or, in extreme cases, corpses lying in beds of stone and sand, we would find the answer in the destruction of our watersheds as the result of deforestation in the upper and middle reaches, as well as the undermining of the riverbeds in the lower stretches. The considerable quantities of water lost through chemical contamination, waste, and solid waste disposal, also play a significant role in the equation. Moreover, the health of our beaches and seas is also linked to the health of our rivers. Despite all of this, our watersheds, rivers, and aquifers are still there. Although their capacity to produce, transport and store water in quantity and quality is diminished, the opportunity remains for serious and sustained action to restore part of their lost capacity. If we do not do so, the deterioration will continue and the collective welfare plans for which we all clamor and deserve will fail, putting the sustainability of the country at risk. This book, “Dominican Rivers. Networks of Life” aims to expand our familiarity with our surface water resources, their values and their current conditions. It is a textual, graphic, and photographic tour of the principal rivers and their tributaries, some of their pools, waterfalls and cascades, dams and canals, their various uses and the infrastructures built for these purposes. The conditions of plant cover in the watersheds are highlighted. The presentation in the book is organized by each of the basins that supports a major river and its tributaries, following a vertical axis that runs from the west to the east of the country. An important companion to this book is the documentary The Networks of Life, a series of five installments that present a valuable excerpt of the functions and values of rivers and their use for tourism, agriculture, hydroelectricity, as well as the support they provide for the economic development of many communities. Another innovative and interesting complement is the mobile application “Dominican Rivers”, which will enable users to quickly pinpoint the location of some of the country’s most important rivers, with images of their attractions and the information necessary to get to know these natural resources from a virtual plane. 2. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION The National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INDRHI) indicates that the National Hydrographic Network is composed of 97 rivers that flow into the sea, 556 tributaries which join the previous ones - called secondary tributaries - and 1,197 tertiary tributaries, whose waters flow into the secondary ones. The longest rivers are, in kilometers: Yaque del Norte (300); Yuna (203); Yaque del Sur (186); Ozama (136); Artibonito (119 in its Dominican portion); Boba (91); Bajabonico (90), Soco (90); Haina (82); Ocoa (65); Yásica (81) and Higuamo (70). Due to the presence of caverns and other depressions in the terrain, many rivers are subterranean or go underground along certain sections of their courses. Such is the case of the Brujuelas river, in Santo Domingo, Dominican capital; the Nizaíto and Bahoruco, in Paraíso, Barahona province, in the southwest of the country; Las Damas, in Duvergé, Independencia province, also in the southwest, and others. Where does the water in these rivers come from? It is well known that some of the liquid water contained in seas, lakes, rivers, and other sources evaporates through solar heating. That warm, moist air, or water vapor - aided by wind and higher temperatures - rises into the atmosphere. There it mixes with dust and other particles, and in cooler conditions condenses to form clouds. Another important variable occurs when a mass of warm, moist air ascends a mountainside, cools, and then condenses to generate clouds, mists and fog which are essentially miniscule droplets of water. Another equivalent phenomenon is the ascent, cooling and condensation of humid air masses caused by low atmospheric pressure centers such as hurricanes, and tropical storms. When in some of these clouds the water droplets merge, they become heavier and fall to the earth, entering rivers and seas in the form of rain, or snow. This water ends up in rivers and eventually finding its way back to the sea, where the process of evaporation and condensation is repeated. This

endless process is known as the water cycle. From the above explanation, one could infer that rivers only receive water when it rains, but this is not the case. Why is it that in some places along the riverbed there is always some water, even in times of drought? If the land where the rain falls has an appropriate cover of vegetation, a barrier of tree trunks, roots and leaves can form on the ground slowing the flow of water and permitting some to seep into the soil and remain there. In the case of mountainous areas, the result is that this water flows slowly, over the surface or underground, as rivers, streams, brooks, creeks, gullies, and rivulets that eventually reach the drainage channel of a main river. However, if the land has poor plant cover, the rainwater runs swiftly, infiltrates poorly eroding and depleting topsoil. Cloud forests (forests that are almost always surrounded by clouds) are another phenomenon that supplies water to rivers at higher altitudes. There, the branches and foliage of the trees, constantly brushing against the clouds, milk the water from the clouds resulting in what is known as horizontal rain. These phenomena make evident the important fact that rainfall on its own is not enough. Without trees, preferably forests, watersheds, rivers, and other watercourses would not have any appreciable quantity and quality of water. It is important to take into consideration that if the territory of a watershed lies within a protected area, the plant cover in that area will likely be protected, thereby benefiting water production as well as other resources. Hydrographic basins. These are the geographical spaces where the waters of rivers and other watercourses originate, flow, and intermingle and bear the name of the main river it hosts. These spaces are bordered at their heads and on two sides by mountain tops. From there, the waters flow to the base, to the main riverbed. Here, in most cases, tributaries lose their names upon merging with the main rivers. When the Jimenoa River joins the Yaque de Norte River at the famous Confluencia in the mountain town of Jarabacoa, it relinquishes its name in favor of the major river. Mountains, hills, or other topographic features in the highlands that separate one watershed from others are called drainage divides. Each main basin is composed of sub-basins. For example, the Ozama River basin has the sub-basins of La Isabela, Savita, Yabacao and others. In the basins, the upper, middle, and lower parts are differentiated. The number of basins in the country varies according to the criteria of two institutions: INDRHI and the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MIMARENA). The former counts 97 and the latter 47, divided into 30 main and 17 coastal watersheds. These differences are attributed to their approaches to planning which allow them to either add or separate natural formations. The 12 rivers with the largest watersheds are, in square kilometers: Yaque del Norte (7,044), Yuna (5,498), Yaque del Sur (4,972), Ozama (2,685), Artibonito (2,614 in the Dominican portion and 6,399 in the Haitian portion), Higuamo (1,182), Soco (1,051), Yásica (824), Bajabonico (678), Ocoa (677), Boba (624) and Haina (564). Twenty-five major watersheds were selected for this book. Some of them include comments on rivers located in basins contiguous or close to those described. The mountain ranges and other mountainous topographies in the country are fundamental elements of any river system, portions of which are present in each watershed. They capture the clouds and foster the birth and primary flows of our rivers. It is important to point out the terrestrial portion of Los Haitises, a valuable reservoir of subterranean waters that feed many of our rivers. In terms of geographic relief, the worthiest of note are the Northern, Central (Madre de las Aguas) and Eastern Mountain Ranges. Other important mountain ranges are those of Yamasá, in the province of Monte Plata, in the central region of the country; Samaná, in the northeast of the island; Martín García, in Bahoruco, and Neyba, in the southwest of the country. The final farewell gift our rivers leave before flowing into the sea is estuary. This is an area right before the mouth of the river, whose primary characteristic is the mixture of salt and fresh water. This area, together with other conditions, supports the growth of plankton, a crucial element in the marine food chain, favors the development of mangroves, as well as the spawning and growth of species of high ecological and economic value, such as eels, mullets, shrimp, crabs, birds, and millions of microorganisms. Estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems on earth. Two of the most prominent estuaries in the country are those of the Yuna River, in Sánchez, in the northern region; the Soco, Cumayasa and Higuamo Rivers, in the eastern region of the country; and the Bajabonico and Yásica Rivers, in the north, among others.

This basin lies in the extreme southwest of the Dominican territory, straddling the border with Haiti. It comprises a total area of 348 square kilometers in both countries, half of which lies in the Dominican Republic. The chief tributaries that feed the Pedernales River flow from the Los Arroyos community. Other tributaries originate in the Haitian communities of Platón Pistache and Bois Codeine, at altitudes ranging from 1,300 to 1,700 meters above sea level. 36.5 kilometers of its 40-kilometer length, run along the Dominican-Haitian border, however 11.9 of these, those that run from the northwest frontier region to the Mencia crossing, are known as Río Bonito. The average monthly volume of flow (gauged at the Seine Pass) is 11.73 cubic meters per second (m³/s). The Pedernales River feeds the aqueduct of the municipality of its namesake, and by means of a diversion dam supplies 0.25 cubic meters per second of water for regional agricultural irrigation. Haiti receives a comparable volume of water. To date, 0.075 cubic meters per second are taken for the aqueduct. This river, which lies in the extreme southwest of the Dominican Republic, is the only important supply of fresh surface water available in the immediate vicinity able to meet the present and future requirements of the municipality of Pedernales, and the long-awaited touristic project planned for Cabo Rojo, in the same province. Its main tributary is the Mulito River, whose fresh and crystalline waters - and the chain of small waterfalls that adorn its course - make it an inviting attraction for bathers and nature lovers. Water diverted from this river powers a small hydroelectric plant. Deforestation in the watershed area threatens the present and future use of both these rivers. The Mulito River’s source is not clearly defined, but it is most likely in the vicinity of Loma La Manigua, Sierra de Bahoruco, a mountain range that straddles the border

between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Most of its other tributaries are transitory and only drain during rainy seasons. As in other areas, at the confluence of these rivers, there is a great deal of deforestation on the Haitian side. The micro hydroelectric plant powered by the waters of the Mulito River boast an installed capacity of 68 kilowatts. It was inaugurated in 2017, with the intention of benefiting 314 families in the communities of Mencía and Altagracia. In 1979, the governments of the Dominican Republic and Haiti inaugurated a diverting dam on the Pedernales River, at a cost of RD$214,368.00, which provides 0.25 cubic meters per second of the redirected flow to both countries. In the Dominican case, the water is used to feed the aqueduct that, aside from supplying part of the municipality of Pedernales, serves to irrigate about 14,600 tareas (2,269 acres) of land located near kilometer 4 east of the city of Pedernales. A portion of 66.47 square kilometers of the Sierra de Bahoruco National Park is located within the upper basin of the Pedernales River and its drainages. But there is a 16 square kilometer transverse strip of the park that is ever-increasingly being encroached upon for agricultural activities, including the development of avocado plantations. This situation threatens the park’s patches of cloud forest as the river’s primary water sources. Deforestation has also threatened the valuable flora and fauna of Sierra de Bahoruco Park, habitat of endemic species and migratory birds of interest to the scientific community as well as national and foreign tourists. The mouth of the Pedernales River into the Caribbean Sea has been in a state of continual deterioration due to the gradual disappearance of the riparian forest. The extraction of sand and the precarious flow of water, only alleviated during rainy spells, have also exerted adverse effects on the area of the river’s mouth.

This river basin comprehends the largest river system of the Antilles, with a total area of 9,007 square kilometers (3,478 square miles). 29 percent of which lays within the Dominican Republic, 71 percent in Haiti. The Artibonito is the longest river on the island, with 321 kilometers flowing through Haiti and 191 on Dominican soil. Its headwaters stretch between Lomas Puerto de Copey, at 1,323 meters above sea level, and La Sierrecita, at approximately 1,525 meters above sea level. Its journey begins about five kilometers northeast of Loma Nalga de Maco, in Río Limpio, Dominican Republic and comes to rest emptying into the Gulf of Gonaïves, Haiti. The flow of the river, gauged in Pedro Santana, Elías Piña province, in the southwest of the country, ranges from 5 to 16.90 cubic meters per second, depending on the time of year. In Dominican territory, the Artibonito River is used to collect water for housing, the irrigation of some farmland adjacent to its banks and for use in resorts such as those of Restauración, where the river has crystal clear waters and a strong flow. The Artibonito Hydroelectric Project is currently in development. Continuing with the southwestern region of the Dominican Republic, the main water collecting sub-basins are those of the Macasías and Joca rivers, with important inflows from the Tocino River. The former is the most exploited, with 40.7 kilometers of canals and total flows of 2.80 cubic meters per second, irrigating nearly 23,700 tareas (3,682 acres) in irrigation canals. In the Yacahueque River, Carrera de Yegua District, and in Palma Sola, in Arroyo Seco, also in the southwest, there are two dams that store water for irrigation. In the area of the source of the Artibonito, the annual rainfall is between 1,800 and 2,000 millimeters, with the presence of cloud forests, greatly degraded due to agricultural activities carried out by both neighboring countries. The most important tributaries in the upper basin are El Café stream and the Maniel and Vallecito rivers. The Joca River sub-basin, covering 285 square kilometers, is the smaller of the two. This river springs between the Lomas Viajador, in the Central Cordillera, at 1,919 meters above sea level, and Monte de Joca, at 1,807 meters above sea level. Except for a small cloud forest in the area surrounding the source, other upper parts of the watershed are heavily deforested. Other spreads, with some forest cover, in the middle area of this sub-basin, specifically to the northwest of the town of Pedro Santana, between the small hamlets of Los Cercadillos and El Hato are places easily accessible, susceptible to human impact. There are plans for the construction of a dam in nearby Hoyo de Joca. The second sub-basin is that of the Macasías River, with about 1,542 square kilometers, 59 percent of which flows through Dominican territory. Its source is likely in an area of wetlands and drainage near the Guardarraya Lagoon, above the riverbed already visible at the crossing of the road from Las Matas de Farfán to El Cercado, in the southwest of the country. It is important to note that the major water flow of the Macasías River comes from the Caña River, which originates in Hondo Valle, a municipality near the border with Haiti. It receives runoff from 40 first order drainages that flow from the Sierra de Neiba. The two rivers converge near the community of Los Jobos, on the road to Bánica. From the north, the Macasías River is fed by several streams and rivers, such as the Yabonico and Yacahueque, which are used to irrigate prime agricultural land. The dam of the same name was built on the latter river at a cost of US$18 million in the Carrera de Yegua District. The objective was to irrigate 40,000 tareas (6,217 acres) of the region. It was inaugurated in 2019 but is not equipped for the generation of hydroelectric power. Another smaller dam is the Palma Sola dam, rehabilitated in 2016 and built on Arroyo Seco, for the irrigation of 38,000 tareas (5,906 acres). The Macasías river meets with the Artibonito River at Las Dos Boca. After having spent its strength through the irrigation canal that shares its name, its volume is oftentimes significantly depleted. Other important tributaries of the Artibonito River are the Tocino River, in the middle part of the basin, and the Libón River, in the upper basin. Although the latter originates in Haiti, its main flow comes from a dozen perennial streams and the water resources of the Neita and Gurabo rivers, all in Dominican territory. In the area of El Corozo, on a plateau to the west of the Pan de Azúcar hill, a 25-kilometer stretch begins as the international boundary up to the bridge near the communities of Tilorí, on the Haitian side, and Villa Anacaona. In 1957, the Artibonito River in central Haiti was dammed for the construction of the Peligre Dam. In the intervening years since, it became useless. So much silt run-off from the surrounding areas of Pedro Santana, Bánica, and other border localities has accumulated in the reservoir that it is presently being used as farmland.

The implementation of projects with border rivers requires cooperation between the two countries. For this reason, many initiatives have been frustrated by political, technical, ecological, and economic problems. The Artibonito has been considered as the only major river source that can provide considerable volumes of water supply to Haiti for multiple purposes. Proper management of the forest and water resources that nourish this river benefits the Dominican Republic but is critical for the lives of the people of Haiti.

The area of the Masacre River basin is approximately 723 square kilometers, 51 percent, and 49 percent between the Dominican and Haitian territories, respectively. However, deforestation and the inappropriate use of the area’s steep slopes for agriculture and intensive grazing has greatly constricted the water supply in the Haitian territories. The course of the Masacre, also known as the Dajabón River, is 47 kilometers long, of which some 12 kilometers mark the Dominican-Haitian border. It originates in Loma Pico de Gallo, near Loma de Cabrera, Dajabón province, northeast of the border, and flows into Manzanillo Bay, in the Atlantic Ocean, Montecristi province. The average monthly historical flow (gauged in San Miguel) is 3.68 cubic meters per second. A 57-kilometer network of irrigation canals relies on the river capacity to convey nine cubic meters per second, irrigating some 58,274 tareas (9,056 acres). The Masacre River provides 0.1 cubic meters per second to the aqueduct of Dajabón, an important border city, feeds the Saladilla Lagoon and bathes its estuary area with waters enriched from the mangrove swamp, which is at present in healthy condition and boasts a large crab population. The La Piña dam, built in the Los Miches sector at a cost of RD$269 million and inaugurated in 2020, is also in this basin. The reservoir has a storage capacity of one million cubic meters and is fed by the La Piña and Bimbín watercourses. Its waters bolster the flow of the Juan Calvo canal used for agricultural irrigation. In the early morning hours, wide swaths of the dam are covered with thick fog, silhouettes of twisted trees and a numbing silence, broken only by the sporadic squawking of waterhen. Another dam is the Cabeza de Caballo, built in 1988 in the community of La Peñita, 20 kilometers south of the Dajabón province. Its reservoir of 0.6 million cubic meters is fed by the Cabeza de Caballo river, which flows into the Masacre about 170 meters downstream of the dam. It was built in 1988 to provide water for the aqueduct and agricultural irrigation. Structural problems and deforestation of the area have kept it out of operation. In Loma de Cabrera, a municipality in the province of Dajabón, is the Salto del Masacre, a favorite bathing spot of internal and international visitors alike. Of the 32 tributaries which feed into the Masacre River the Capotillo River is the most vital. On the Haitian side, the Masacre’s water supply comes via the Gens De Monte River, which converges with the Capotillo River, also called Bernar, on the same border, about 10 kilometers south of the city of Dajabón. Further downstream, the Capotillo River feeds the flow of the Masacre, near the Don Miguel community. Its main sub-basins in the upper reaches are the Manatí River, covering approximately 55 square kilometers, and the Dajao River, with 23.74 square kilometers. In the middle and lower basin is the Guajabo River, whose sub-basin extends over 209.67 square kilometers. Protected areas within this watershed total 38.42 square kilometers, 10.47 percent of the watershed’s territory. These are: the Chacuey and Cayuco River forest reserves, the Laguna Saladilla wildlife refuge, which has the largest proportion, and the Estero Balsa National Park, with a mere 0.01 square kilometers. The forests cover an area of 121.31 square kilometers, 36.66 percent of the watershed. Their integrity is under constant threat.

This basin, located on the eastern slope of the Sierra de Bahoruco, of the Barahona province, covers an area of 173 square kilometers. The Nizaíto River is 26 kilometers long, with pronounced gradient and a historical monthly average flow of 3.32 cubic meters per second, gauged in Villa Nizao. It has its source at Loma Las Cuevas, located 1,300 meters above sea level, north of the towns of Polo and Las Auyamas; it flows into the Caribbean Sea. Its main tributary is Las Auyamas river. The Nizaíto River’s abundant and crystalline waters are noteworthy. Not only does it feed the aqueduct of the municipality of Paraíso, but 1.5 cubic meters per second are extracted from it to irrigate 50,832 tareas (7,899 acres) in the thirsty municipality of Oviedo, 52 kilometers away. The water is conveyed through cement canals, sometimes embedded in the ground or through bridges (flumes) to connect depressions in the terrain. These are works of engineering deserving of praise. The Nizaíto River passes behind the famous ecotourism complex Rancho Plato and is enjoyed by guests for rubber tube rides. Two short rivers are the main tributaries of the sub-basin: the Cortico River, which originates in Loma Los Lirios, at 1,236 meters above sea level, and the Sito River, which originates near Loma Charco Prieto, at 1,351 meters above sea level. The latter joins the Nizaíto near the town of Paraíso, province of Barahona, in the southwest of the country. Due to the geological characteristics of the region, most of the drainages in the upper intra-mountain valley of Polo are not continuous; they are sunken in the proximities of the valley. The latest statistics report that there is 82.23 square kilometers of woodland cover within the watershed, mainly shaded coffee plantations. However, at the headwaters of the Nizaíto River, the area is used for agriculture and is heavily deforested. About 10 square kilometers of the watershed’s territory is under legal protection. A portion of the Padre Domingo Fuerte Natural Monument, with 6.7 square kilometers, is the most important protected area. The rest are the scenic byways from Cabral to Polo and the Mirador de Paraíso. There is talk about the possibility of building a dam on this river to provide water to the region near Pedernales, in the deep southwest, to supplement current and future demand.

Found in the province of Barahona, this basin comprises an area of 60 square kilometers. The Bahoruco River is only 10 kilometers long and has a flow of approximately 1.5 cubic meters per second (author’s estimate). Its waters originate in a place named

La Última Razón, at 1,603 meters above sea level, and flows into the Caribbean Sea, a short distance from its neighbor Nizaíto. Its primary water catchment area is the Brazo Seco stream. The Bahoruco riverbed is a chain of natural pools and waterfalls, among which Los Morones, Felicidad and, especially, La Plaza deserve special mention. They all have crystalline waters, and in several stretches, blue and turquoise colors stand out. Guided tours are managed by the Cooperative for the Development of La Ciénaga (COOPEDECI), made up of 64 women and eight men. The headwaters of the Bahoruco River, in the province of Barahona, are bolstered by more than a dozen streams and creeks from the adjacent hills, noteworthy are Loma Pie de Palo, Guacho and Loma Remigio, at 1,532, 1,287 and 1,220 meters above sea level, respectively. They are home to one of the best manacla palm groves in the country, and the most important in the Sierra de Bahoruco. Many of the main tributaries through the middle and lower basins of the Brazo Seco sub-basin flow underground in the Loma Pie de Palo. Another important tributary is the Infierno stream, with its main aquifers coming from the Loma Remigio, at 1,100 meters above sea level. In all these hills there is still abundant cloud forest cover.

The Bahoruco riverbed runs through a canyon flanked by high mountains, with large boulders, mostly limestone, and lush woodland vegetation. There are numerous pools, estimated by some locals to number more than twenty-five; small and medium-sized waterfalls are also abundant. During times of prolonged drought, the river vanishes underground for a stretch of approximately 2.5 kilometers wherein the water can be heard (but not seen) coursing through the caverns below ground. The forest cover in the watershed is mainly arboreal, including shaded coffee plantations. The principal agricultural activities are somewhat constrained by the steep slopes and the calcareous nature of the land. The recent increase in the planting of taro, bananas and other crops however are cause for concern.

Part of the excursion to Balneario* La Plaza can be undertaken in a 4x4 or all-terrain vehicle, and a hike through the hills and across the river for about an hour and a half. COOPEDECI also organizes tours along the trails of the hill, some of which go as far as the town of El Cachote, where other attractions await. In addition to camping at some river sites and trails, there are other lodging alternatives in the immediate area, including the famous Casa Bonita resort.

In terms of size, this is the third largest river basin in the country, occupying nearly 4,992.8 square kilometers, equivalent to 10.36 percent of the area of the Dominican Republic. It encompasses part of the provinces of La Vega, San José de Ocoa, San Juan, Azua, Barahona and Bahoruco. The main river, the Yaque del Sur, is 200 kilometers long and has a historical average monthly flow of 45.31 cubic meters per second, gauged at Villarpando. Its headwaters flow from the southern slope of Loma La Rucilla, at 3,038 meters above sea level (only one of its streams originates in Loma Pico del Yaque). It empties into the sea near the María Montés airport in Barahona. This basin has seven hydroelectric power plants on various tributaries that generate a total of approximately 213.6 gigawatt hours per year, worth approximately US$20 million (except for the Firm Power.) These are: Salto de Constanza (Constanza Falls), Palomino, Sabana Yegua, Magueyal, Los Toros, Sabaneta, Domingo Rodríguez and, currently under construction, Monte Grande. The Yaque del Sur River feeds several important irrigation canals, among them the imposing Ysura canal, which not only irrigates close to 250,000 tareas (38,850 acres) of land located in arid zones and some salt flats, but also feeds numerous aqueducts and recycled twice for the generation of electricity eliminating any need for reservoirs. Other rivers in the basin also provide water for aqueducts and agricultural irrigation. The main tributaries of the Yaque del Sur are the San Juan, Mijo, Grande or medio rivers, and Las Cuevas. The most spectacular balnearios are on the San Juan River and the main waterfall, that of Aguas Blancas, in Constanza, is a popular attraction for visitors. The waters of this basin originate primarily from the Central Mountain Range and three mountain ranges: Bahoruco, Neiba and Martín García. Data from 2012 indicate an approximate forest cover of 52 percent of its territory, consisting mainly of arid forest. Within this region’s watershed lie portions of 12 protected areas, totaling 2,061.45 square kilometers (41.28 percent of its territory): mainly the José del Carmen Ramírez and Valle Nuevo national parks, with 749 and 450 square kilometers, respectively. However, cattle ranching and hillside cultivation are present in all these legally protected areas, adversely affecting all the main tributaries of the Yaque del Sur. The first large-scale development in the upper basin of the Yaque del Sur is the Palomino dam, built at a cost of US$400 million and inaugurated in 2012. It is located at the confluence with the Blanco River, in the border municipality of Bohechío, San Juan de la Maguana province. The surface area of the reservoir is 220,000 square meters and can store up to 3.3 million cubic meters. From there the water is routed to the powerhouse, where the turbines and generators reside, through a tunnel 13.5 kilometers long and five meters in diameter, with a gross drop of 360 meters. It has an installed hydroelectric production capacity of 80 megawatts; in 2020, electricity production was 117 gigawatt hours. Of the four collector sub-basins of the Yaque del Sur, two are on its west side: those of the San Juan and Mijo rivers, which converge before joining the Yaque. To the east are the Las Cuevas and Grande, or Del Medio, rivers. The San Juan River, considered the largest tributary of the Yaque del Sur, originates at Loma La Viuda, 2,801 meters above sea level, which is considered the most pristine area of José del Carmen Ramírez National Park. Along its upper stretches, the San Juan River’s waters run crystal-clear with a robust current, linking a chain of spectacular bathing pools with waters that flow between gray boulders and pools of different depths. The road that leads to its confluence, through Los Higuitos brook, enables access for the enjoyment of these wonders. With an average flow of 8.13 cubic meters per second, the river flows into the Sabaneta dam in San Juan de la Maguana province, built at a cost of US$36 million for multiple purposes. It was inaugurated in 1981. Until few years ago the usable volume of water storage in the reservoir was 58 million cubic meters, but the more than 23 million cubic

meters of sediment accumulated over time have reduced it significantly, a clear indication of the deforestation of the basin area. From the reservoir, water runs to the powerhouse through a tunnel and a pressure pipe with a net drop of 65 meters. The installed capacity is 6.4 megawatts; hydroelectric production in 2020 was 18 gigawatt hours. The turbinated waters, and those from the spillways, return to the course of the San Juan River. About 500 meters further along, 6.5 cubic meters per second of water are diverted to the José Joaquín Puello canal, which irrigates about 300,000 tareas (46,620 acres). Through an ingenious design that will be replicated elsewhere, the canal water is used to operate the Domingo Rodríguez hydroelectric power plant, inaugurated in 2004 and whose installed capacity is 3.6 megawatts. Energy production in 2020 was 0.019 gigawatt hours. The operation consists of diverting water from the canal to the intakes, then piping it to a recharge chamber (a small open-air concrete reservoir) and conveying it to the powerhouse through a metal pressure pipe. After generating electricity, it then returns to the irrigation canals. After flowing through the urban area of the municipality of San Juan de la Maguana, the Los Baos River, bringing its waters from the Sierra de Neyba joins the San Juan River. A kilometer ahead it is joined by the Mijo River. The latter has its source in the Loma de La Medianía, 2,700 meters above sea level, where several major tributaries of the Macutico River also originate, less than five kilometers east of the Loma La Viuda. Another major tributary of the Yaque del Sur is the Las Cuevas River, whose source is in Loma Tetero de Mejía, in the province of San José de Ocoa, at 2,330 meters above sea level. As it travels through the community of Guayabal, in Padre Las Casas, it receives water from the abundant Arroyo Guayabal and continues along a wide canyon through the mountains, collecting water from several minor streams. The other important tributary of the Yaque del Sur is the Grande or Del Medio River, so called because it is in the between the former and the Las Cuevas River. It is born at La Loma, El Macho, at 2,330 meters above sea level, in the Juan Bautista Pérez Rancier Park (Valle Nuevo). The accumulation of its waters, before the edge of an abrupt embankment, creates the Aguas Blancas waterfall, in Constanza, whose height of 83 meters and fresh cold waters make it one of the most popular places in the region. On its way through Constanza, this river - with a modest flow of one cubic meter per second - provides water for the aqueduct of the municipality, as well as for agricultural irrigation. In the El Chorro sector, it feeds the El Salto mini-hydroelectric plant, with an installed capacity of 0.66 megawatts, which in 2020 produced 1.6 gigawatt hours. The construction of the Sabana Yegua dam reservoir made use of the natural drainage basin formed by the convergence of the three main tributaries of the Yaque basin: the Las Cuevas, from an east-west direction, Grande, or del Medio and Yaque del Sur rivers, both running from north to south. With one new factor: the waters of the Yaque, once through the turbines at the Palomino dam, are discharged into the Grande or Medio riverbed, thus, the Yaque del Sur enters the dam with a diminished flow. The Sabana Yegua dam was inaugurated in 1980 at a cost of US$80 million. The exploitable capacity of the reservoir is 334.7 million cubic meters. The powerhouse is at the foot of the dam’s dike, and the water reaches it through a tunnel reaching a drop of 63 meters. Its installed capacity is 13 megawatts and energy production in 2020 was 42.5 gigawatt hours. From there on, the Yaque del Sur, enriched by the tributaries, gets its name and flows amidst plantations of bananas, vegetables, and other crops. When it reaches the Villarpando sector, it converges with the San Juan River coming from the west. At this junction there is a curtain dam. Most of the water continues its normal course and about 12 cubic meters per second are diverted for the beginning of the Ysura canal, designed for a flow of 25 cubic meters per second. Shortly thereafter, about two cubic meters per second are diverted to an intake chamber and then, with a drop of 65 meters, enter the powerhouse of the Magueyal hydroelectric plant. This was built in 2008 at a cost of US$13.7 million. Its installed capacity is 3.2 megawatts with a historical energy production of 11 gigawatt hours. After passing through the Hato Nuevo penstock the turbinated waters of Magueyal are returned to the Yaque, and flow to the south, hence there are now two Yaques: the latter and one that runs through the Ysura canal. In the locality known as Oreganito, 20 kilometers from Azua, part of the waters of this canal are again turbinated in the Los Toros hydroelectric plant. This was built in 2000 at a cost of RD$317 million, plus RD$12 million in compensatory funds from the Dominican government. The installed capacity is 9.7 megawatts. In 2020 it produced 23.4 gigawatt hours of energy. The turbinated waters merge with those of the Tábara River. The Yaque riverbed meanders through the arid south, benefiting the inhabitants and local farmers of Los Güiros and other places bordering its banks. In Monte Grande, a dam of the same name is currently under construction. Its initial cost of US$249 million continues to rise owing to changes in the design and the price of materials. This project is expected to provide water for Barahona’s aqueducts and irrigate some 300,000 tareas (46,620 acres) with an installed capacity of 18 megawatts. Further below said dam, the waters of the Yaque del Sur, with the assistance of canals, irrigates plantations of bananas, vegetables and fruit trees in Quita Coraza, Fondo Negro, Tamayo, Vicente Noble, Uvilla, Jaquimeyes and other towns. Unfortunately, the river swells cause damage to crops and properties; it is hoped that the dam will mitigate this issue. An important ecological function of the Yaque del Sur River occurs between it and in the vicinity of the Cabral or Rincón Lagoon, both connected by the Mena Channel and to a lesser degree by the Trujillo Channel, which is currently obstructed with soil sediments and debris. The lagoon is a Wildlife Refuge, habitat of the only endemic turtle - the southern jicotea Trachemys decorata - already on the list of endangered species. In addition, ducks, ibis, and other birds abound. The reservoir also serves for the production and capture of fish, and for recreational outings. Moreover, in times when the reservoir at capacity, it overflows into Lake Enriquillo. Today, however, there are problems: the surface and flow of water into the lagoon has dropped to critical levels because of siltation of the river, road construction and other factors. Near Laguna Cabral or Rincón, the Yaque del Sur riverbed makes a sharp turn to the west and flows into Neyba Bay, not far from Barahona’s María Montez airport.

7. TÁBARA RIVER BASIN

The Tábar River basin encompasses an area of 414.31 square kilometers, with more than 90 percent of its territory in the province of Azua and the remaining area in the southern province of Barahona. This river is about 93 kilometers long and has an average monthly flow of 0.80 cubic meters per second. Its headwaters are near Los Calimetes and Los Naranjitos, in the province of Azua, in the Central Mountain Range, at an altitude of 1,400 meters above sea level. These areas are currently cultivated with coffee and other agricultural products. The main affluent of the Tábara River is the Biafara Brook, which originates between the Firme Manuel Chiquito and El Salte hills, at 700 and 777 meters above sea level, respectively. Other important drainages are the Higo Grande gully and the Pondequiera stream, all located in the basin’s maximum rainfall zone, which accumulate 1,000 millimeters per year. A dozen streams and creeks emerge from the Sierra Martín García. Most of them produce intermittent streams because of the geological characteristics of this mountain range and the low rainfall, which oscillates between 800 and 1,000 millimeters. In the entire lower basin, over 60% of the territory, rainfall barely reaches 600 millimeters. In the lower basin of the Tábara River, several drainages join the Las Lajas stream. The forest cover extends over 235.49 square kilometers, 56.84 percent of the basin’s area, and is made up primarily of arid forest. In addition, there are areas of shady coffee plantations in the upper watershed and mangroves in the lower. The basin is favored with portions of five protected areas totaling 324.24 square kilometers, or 78.26 percent of its territory. These are the Anacaona and Sierra Martín García national parks; the Barrero and Loma Forest reserves; and the Mangroves of Puerto Viejo wildlife refuge. Recently, the Sur Futuro Foundation’s Siembra de Agua private reserve was added, a 1.5 square kilometer reserve in the region where the Tábara River meets the Higo Grande ravine. The river supplies water to the aqueduct of Tábara as well as for the irrigation of agricultural lands in the area. Its contribution is critical for the municipality of Azua and its environs, given the natural aridity of the area. The water already turbinated in the Los Toros hydroelectric plant, which comes from one of the branches of the Ysura canal, feeds the flow of the Tábara. The lower basin of the Tábara River is vast. Without any discernible borders, it joins the La Auyama and Jura rivers to the east, where one of the branches of the Tábara, alongside the other two, flows into the beautiful Jura Bay and contributes to the fishing productivity of the area. On the west side, another of its offshoots flows into the extensive wetlands of Puerto Viejo.

This basin, located in the country’s Central Mountain Range, extends over 7,050 square kilometers, and covers parts of the provinces of La Vega, Santiago, Valverde, Santiago Rodríguez, Dajabón and Montecristi, with rainfall ranging from rainy in the upper basin to semi-arid and arid below. The Yaque del Norte River is 295 kilometers long, the longest in the country, with a historical monthly average flow of 39.88 cubic meters per second (measured at Las Charcas). For a long time, the Pico del Yaque, in the Central Mountain Range, has been identified as its source, but in the official topographic maps, the name of the Yaque River only appears after the confluence of the Los Guanos and Los Tablones rivers, both located in the Armando Bermúdez National Park, which would be its precursors. The river flows into Manzanillo Bay, in the province of Montecristi, in the extreme northwest of the country. There are nine hydroelectric and irrigation dams in this basin: Jimenoa, Baiguaque, Tavera-Bao, López-Angostura, Brazo Derecho, Monción, Contraembalse de Monción and Maguaca, which generate about 470 gigawatt hours. It is the main source of water for the aqueducts of the region known as the Northwest Line of the country, as well as the provinces of Santiago and the city of Moca. It supplies large canals that irrigate about 1,100,000 tareas (170,940 acres) and benefit about 15,000 producers of high-value crops. There are many excellent balnearios* to be found throughout its highlands. However, due to its passage through populated areas and deforestation at the headwaters of many of its tributaries, the river is affected by pollution. The demand for water in the basin is closing in on the available supply. Within the limits of this watershed there are 26 protected areas, which occupy a total of 2,340.64 square kilometers, 33.96 percent of the watershed’s territory. Among them are parts of the Valle Nuevo and Armando Bermúdez national parks, with 21.7 and 74 square kilometers, respectively. In addition, there are the Ébano Verde and Las Neblinas scientific reserves, the Diego de Ocampo and La Tinaja natural monuments, among others. All the latter in smaller proportions than the national parks. Both the Yaque del Norte River and its main tributaries generate great benefits along their course. The beauty and biodiversity are particularly magnified along its path through the Armando Bermúdez National Park. The Los Tablones River, carrying the waters of the Arraiján River, flows into the Yaque at the site called La Boca de los Ríos, in Manabao, where it creates a stunning balneario that attracts many visitors. The clear, limpid waters of the Yaque, from Manabao past La Guázara, beckon visitors to immerse themselves in any of the many permanent or temporary balnearios that the intensity of the currents create. The strong currents and the uneven riverbed which begin at Los Calabazos and La Guázara offer ideal rafting and boating conditions. Past Manabao, the most important tributaries to the Yaque’s waters are Los Dajaos River and the vigorous El Cercado Stream, near La Guázara. On its way through the La Piña sector, it runs into a sizeable indentation that creates a natural deep-water bathing pool. So, it reaches the famous confluence with the Jimenoa River, its main tributary, to create a balneario (natural bathing pool) that has been enjoyed for many generations. All the rivers, streams, and creeks from the eastern end of the basin flow into the Jimenoa. There are two stunning waterfalls with inviting crystalline pools nestled in exquisite surroundings that are very popular landmarks. The first one of these lies eight kilometers from the road that connects the mountain towns of Jarabacoa and Constanza, entering from the left, where a portion of the river waters are dammed and channeled to a hydroelectric plant through a tunnel and a pressure pipe 1.7 kilometers long. This hydroelectric plant was built in 1954 and is one of the forerunners in the country. Its installed capacity is 8.5 megawatts and in 2020 it produced about 42 megawatt hours. The better-known of the two is on the road that leads to the sectors of Sabaneta and Mata de Plátano. It is 30 meters high. The

flow of the waterfall had diminished a lot, nevertheless, it remains a popular tourist destination. The La Palma and Baiguate rivers are the main tributaries of the Jimenoa. Baiguate is home to a very popular a waterfall with a drop of 20 meters. It is 2.7 kilometers away on a turnoff to the right of the Jarabacoa-Constanza road. In the Sabaneta sector the Baiguate River converges with the Jimenoa emptying into it the debris and sediment that cause the Jimenoa’s usual murky aspect. On its way north, in the locality of Tavera, the Yaque receives water from the Guanajuma River, whose watershed is relatively well reforested. This river has several important balnearios. With a controlled flow of 17.1 cubic meters per second, the waters of the Yaque del Norte feed the Tavera dam, built in 1973 at a cost of US$43.5 million in the place of the same name, 35 kilometers south of the municipality of Santiago de los Caballeros, the country’s second largest city. This project initiated the Tavera - Bao - López - Angostura multi-purpose complex, all using the Yaque del Norte and the Bao River, its main tributary, as their source. The Bao dam, built in 1981 at a cost of US$75.3 million, has as its source the river of the same name and enters the reservoir with a flow of approximately 18.9 cubic meters per second. The capacity of the Bao reservoir is 244 million cubic meters, from which four cubic meters per second are derived as the main source of the Cibao aqueduct. The Bao reservoir was connected to the Tavera reservoir by a 1.5-kilometer open-air canal and operates as a single reservoir, with a storage capacity of 417 million cubic meters. By this design, the powerhouse - where the turbines and generators are located - is only connected to the Tavera reservoir. It does so through a closed tunnel 4.25 kilometers long, 6.5 meters in diameter, with a drop of 110 meters and a flow of 100 cubic meters per second. This generator house lies in the Monte de la Zanja sector, in the municipality of Sabana Iglesia, more than four kilometers away from the dam. The installed generation capacity is 100 megawatts. The average annual production of electricity in recent years has been 170 gigawatt hours per year. Due to its ease of accessibility and the existence of several restaurants adjacent to the Tavera dam, this is one of the most visited reservoirs in the country. Local outfitters organize boat rides and fishing in the reservoir for those who are interested. Windsurfing and windsurfing competitions are held in the channel that connects the two dams. The Bao River is the largest tributary along the entire course of the Yaque del Norte with a basin encompassing 903 square kilometers. Its source emerges from the hills of La Pelona, 3,087 meters above sea level, and Pico Barraco. Six kilometers between the two hills separate the Armando Bermúdez and José del Carmen Ramírez national parks, where there are streams and ravines that feed the Bao River on its northern slope and the Blanco, Macutico and La Tortilla rivers to the south, which feed the Yaque del Sur. Before the construction of the dams, the Bao was joined by the Yaque at Boca de los Ríos, and to the northwest by the López compensating reservoir; now they are joined by the reservoir. The Bao basin serves part of the towns of Juncalito, Jánico, Mata Grande and Las Placetas. The main tributaries of the Bao are the Jánico, Jagua, Baiqueque and Guanajuma rivers. It is estimated that the flow of the Bao River contributes approximately 30 percent of the flow of the Yaque del Norte. López counter reservoir, located a few meters from the Tavera power plant, is the third component of the complex. Its function is to store the waters as they exit the power plant and distribute 1.5 cubic meters per second into the Cibao aqueduct and another portion to Angostura, to the powerplant in Las Charcas, four kilometers to the north. The Lopez reservoir has a total capacity of 4.4 million cubic meters which are conveyed to the Angostura power plant through a closed tunnel 3.9 meters long and 4.2 meters in diameter. The installed capacity is 18 megawatts. The average annual electricity production of this plant has been 88 gigawatt hours. Nearby, to the south of the Tavera dam, there is a small hydroelectric plant called Baiguaque fed by the river of the same name, a tributary of the Jagua River, another beautiful river that creates dozens of natural pools from Juncalito to the south. The hydroelectric plant began operations in 1995. Its energy production in 2020 was 0.86 gigawatt hours. After leaving the turbines, the waters enter the Bao dam. The water from Angostura flows back into the Yaque. The riverbed widens to about 100 meters and creates a relatively clear water bathing area called Timberke. A little downstream the riverbed diverges creating a beautiful islet. Other bathing areas downstream, such as El Aguacate and Las Charcas, are also well known and enjoyed. Pollution of the river, evident in the turbidity of the water, worsens as it passes through the city of Santiago de los Caballeros and its suburbs. Households and industries populating the riverbanks are the cause of this contamination. The construction of an avenue without buildings on the eastern side of the river and the Mirador del Yaque Park border several kilometers of the riverbed and have reduced the possibility of any further contamination. In the sector known as La Otra Banda, there is an intake that feeds the Ulises Francisco Espaillat irrigation canal, with an average flow of 18 cubic meters per second, watering about 390,000 tareas (60,606 acres). Further to the northwest is the Monsieur Bogaert canal, averaging five cubic meters per second, which irrigates about 136,500 tareas (21,212 acres). The Brazo Derecho hydroelectric plant, which operates with water from the Ulises Francisco Espaillat canal, lies near the municipality of Navarrete, in the northwestern end of this province. Its installed capacity is 2.8 megawatts, and energy production in 2020 was 7.5 megawatt hours. The above-mentioned canals, together with those of Villa Vásquez, Fernando Valerio, Jicomé and others, highlight the essential contribution the Yaque del Norte and its tributaries, which, despite its turbidity, flow in diverse directions throughout arid zones, either via their natural course or through secondary canals and irrigate crops of avocados, bananas, rice, vegetables, and others, which would not be possible without this fundamental asset. The water sources that are born in or pass through La Sierra invigorate the Yaque del Norte and increase its flow. Among them is another protagonist of this basin: the Mao River, with a flow of 20.59 cubic meters per second (gauged in Bulla, Monción). It is born in the northern foothills of the Central Mountain Range, at 940 meters above sea level, and after 105 kilometers joins the Ya-

que del Norte near the town of Boca de Mao, Valverde province. On its descent through Monción, Santiago Rodríguez province, the river becomes the Monción dam reservoir, which is also fed by the Maguá river. The dam was inaugurated in 2001 and built at a cost of US$212.5 million. It provides an average of three cubic meters of water for the Northwest Line aqueduct, irrigation water for about 125,000 tareas (19,425 acres), through the Mao-Gurabo and Luis Bogaert canals, primarily for rice cultivation. It also provides an average of 140 gigawatt hours per year and is also used for fishing and fish cage breeding, tourism as well as flood control. The reservoir covers an area of 11 square kilometers, and its usable volume is 342.70 million cubic meters of water. It is connected to the powerhouse through a 4.4-kilometer closed tunnel. The installed power is 52 megawatts. Once through the turbines, the waters are discharged into the Monción backwater reservoir, which has a surface area of two square kilometers and a working volume of 5.63 million cubic meters. The water is used for hydroelectric generation and agricultural irrigation. The installed capacity is 3.2 megawatts. In 2020 electricity production was 11.4 gigawatt hours. From there, the waters return to the Mao River. The latter is also prized for the beauty of its balnearios and for the opportunity to go tubing, especially in Monción. Another of the Yaque’s tributaries is the Ámina River, whose average monthly flow is 7.34 cubic meters per second. It joins the Yaque to the northwest of the municipality of Ámina, above the Hato Nuevo ravine. Under normal times it is a beautiful river with clean waters, and many of which serve as prime bathing spots. Some of the stretches of the river fall within the Picky Lora National Park to protect, among other assets, its landscapes, and the transitional dry forests of the Northwest Line. It is astonishing to observe how the Yaque del Norte, on its course towards the drier areas of the northwest, increases its winding meandering ways and how, at certain times of the year, it carries more water through the primary and secondary irrigation canals than through its natural course. In the municipality of Guayubín, Montecristi province receives about nine metric meters per second of water from the river of the same name, significantly benefitting the regional agriculture. Currently, the Sabaneta Reservoir in the northeastern province of Santiago Rodriguez is under construction and expected to be of great value. The Hinaje, Yaguajal and Caña rivers are also found in the area. The first being the most voluminous. Further west is the Maguaca River, which flows into the Yaque River about two kilometers west of Castañuelas. Its headwaters are in Los Masaquitos and its waters feed the 15.6 million cubic meter reservoir of the Maguaca dam, built in La Mata de Santa Cruz, Dajabón province, at a cost of RD$1.8 million in the 1980’s. The main purpose of its construction was the irrigation of 14,220 tareas (2,210 acres) for the cultivation of vegetables and other crops, as well as for fishing. However, maintaining the river’s flow and achieving the goals has been difficult due to prolonged droughts and deforestation in this sub-basin, whose main cover in the upper part is a small riparian forest. The Chacuey dam, built on the Chacuey river in the 1980s at a cost of RD$1.87 million, is in the El Carnero sector, near the Maguaca dam, in La Mata de Santa Cruz. It is part of a separate basin from this one but faces similar problems. It was built to irrigate 16,500 tareas of land (2,562 acres), but its operation has been precarious due to construction problems and a high rate of deforestation in the catchment area. The Yaque River, which began with the energy of a healthy and vigorous young man, takes its last warrior turns on the shores of Montecristi and surrenders its waters into the Atlantic Ocean. We know that other young Yaques, with the same origin and energy, begin a similar journey every second.

Situated in the province of Puerto Plata, along the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, with an area of 679.37 square kilometers, this watershed is the second largest in the Atlantic Hydrographic Region. The course of the river is 90 kilometers and flows at an average monthly rate of 5.05 cubic meters per second (gauged at El Estrecho). Its waters flow from the confluences of the Pescado Bobo, Los Higos and other streams, located within the vicinity of the Alto de La Manacla, Cerro Alto de La Laguna and Loma de Santana hills, all with average elevations of over 1,000 meters above sea level. Some of its major tributaries include the Unijica, Navas, Caonao, Guananico, Pérez and Grande rivers, which come from between 600 and 985 meters above sea level. Some rivers are located there, such as the Unijica, at the western end, and others, such as the Grande, located north of Loma Diego de Ocampo. The Bajabonico provides 0.50 cubic meters of water per second to irrigate about 41,000 tareas (6,371 acres) of agricultural land. It flows into Isabela Bay, surrounded by a large estuary with a thriving fishery. The area of the Bajabonico River’s headwaters is heavily populated, accessible by vehicle, and is predominantly used for cattle ranching and cocoa cultivation. Another very important tributary is the La Esperanza River, with its headwaters between the Alto del Guazaral and Alto del Chicharon hills, at 947 and 971 meters above sea level, respectively. The lands in the basin are a mixture of pastures, annual crops, coffee, cocoa, and fractional forests. The main problem is that in all the mountainous areas where the rivers and streams originate, the cover of perennial species is low, although this is partly mitigated by cocoa plantations. The greatest tree cover occurs in the middle and lower watersheds. These are transition forests and, to a lesser extent, dry forests in the lower basin with some patches of rainforest in the upper part of the Septentrional mountain range. In the area around the mouth of the estuary there are several patches of wetlands, including the Colé Lagoon. There are healthy mangroves bordering the estuary. The most popular tourist attraction in this basin is the natural monument known as the Damajagua Falls, in Imbert, Puerto Plata. This is a chain of 27 waterfalls of different heights along the Damajagua River, with fresh and often turquoise waters that run or rest between canyons of limestone rocks. It is a place to be enjoyed and preserved. This natural monument is managed by a community association with 37 founding members. An average of 100,000 people visit the monument each year and receive assistance and guidance from 47 local guides. The reception center has restrooms, restaurants, stores, and ample parking.

This watershed extends over 190 square kilometers and covers part of the provinces of Peravia and San José de Ocoa, both located in the southwestern part of the country. The

Baní River, also called Banilejo, is 39 kilometers long and has an average monthly flow of 1.91 cubic meters per second (measured at El Recodo). It flows from the Firme de La Manacla, at 1,680 meters above sea level, in the province of San José de Ocoa. It flows with crystalline waters beyond La Gina, and languidly makes its way into the Caribbean Sea, 1.5 kilometers west of the mouth of the Nizao River. The Baní River still has plenty of arboreal cover, primarily around its source. However, for several years now, the destruction of the regional forests has increased to the detriment of this river source. Two of its important tributaries, the Segundo Río and Rancho Viejo rivers, have lost coverage in their headwaters due to the substitution of coffee plantations for agricultural crops and livestock. Portions of four protected areas are located within this watershed. These are: Luis Quinn National Park, with 41.55 square kilometers; the Loma Barbacoa scientific reserve; the Autopista 6 de Noviembre ecological reserve; and the Rafael Herrera Cabral special protection area. These last three are of negligible size. The Baní River has two sub-basins whose water supply is of great significance. The Maniel River, whose tributaries are the Calimete and Las Golondrinas streams, comes from Loma Barbacoa and the Sonador Ravine, which originates in Loma Rodríguez. The main tree cover in these rivers used to be coffee plantations, but many of these have been cleared. The second sub-basin is Arroyo Güera, which flows into the Baní River in the lower part of the basin, in the same urban area of the city. After the bridge near the fortress in the municipality of Baní, the river is visible only during rainy periods. If the rains are prolonged, flooding occurs, affecting the lower sections of the riverbed and the mouth of the river. In the La Gina area, there are plans to build a dam of the same name to remedy the water deficit in several communities of Baní. Instead of reducing the irrigation water from the Marcos A. Cabral canal, which would be another alternative, the construction of the dam is believed to be the best option. The Baní River delivers 0.50 cubic meters per second to the Juan Caballero canal, which irrigates about 12,752 tareas (1,982 acres) in semi-arid areas. In the upper and middle parts of the basin, the waters of this river are crystal clear. They drop between large rocks and mountain gorges, partially covered with poppies, avocado plantations and scattered sour orange trees. There are natural bathing pools in several places, but the most striking is Las Yayitas, with a stream from the Maniel River creating a large circular pool. The place is accessible by car to Las Yayitas and then a 20-minute walk through the mountainside. The entrance is on the 6 de Noviembre highway, turning right at the Fortaleza de Baní in the direction of El Recodo.

The basin occupies an area of 1,036 square kilometers; it extends over part of the provinces of San José de Ocoa and San Cristóbal - located in the near southwest of the island, and the provinces of Monseñor Nouel and La Vega, in the Cibao region, practically the center of the island. The Nizao is 118 kilometers long and has an average monthly flow rate of 20.74 cubic meters per second (measured in Rio Abajo). It has its source in the sinkholes near Sabana Calderón and the Malo River in Valle Nuevo, at an altitude of 2,560 meters above sea level, and flows into the Caribbean Sea, nourishing several cachones (coastal wetlands) in the area with its waters. The beginning tracts of the Nizao benefit from shady cloud forests and coffee plantations along its banks. Its waters remain clear until it reaches its mouth. Its main tributaries, Mahoma and Mahomita, flow clear throughout their entire length. The Nizao River powers three hydroelectric dams and a counter dam, which produce an average of 309.7 giga watt hours of energy per year, in addition to the other uses detailed below The 62.4 percent of the surface of this basin is covered by water-producing rainforests, many of which lie within portions of four national parks: Juan Bautista Pérez Rancier (Valle Nuevo); Loma La Humeadora; Luis Quinn; Máximo Gómez; and the scientific reserve Loma La Barbacoa. The presence of shady coffee plantations in the middle and upper basins, in addition to contributing to the local and national economy, also promotes water production. In the southeastern portion of the basin, rainfall is scarce. The Nizao River, after a rapid descent between steep hills with areas of pine forests, coffee, and other species, reaches Rancho Arriba, with a difference of 1,840 meters in elevation in relation to its source. Its riverbed is wide, sometimes 180 meters, and both surface water and groundwater are used to irrigate crops of considerable economic value. Among the affluents of the Nizao located in its upper basin are the Malo River and the Quita Sueño Creek in Rancho Arriba. Further south, the Malo River is fed by the Banilejo River, which in turn receives tributaries from the province of Monseñor Nouel, located further north. The main tributaries of the Nizao are the Mahoma and Mahomita rivers. Both are born in the province of San Cristóbal, located about 30 minutes west of the center of the Dominican capital, and form the border between these provinces, as well as those of San José de Ocoa and Peravia. Other notable tributaries, located in the middle basin, are the Barraco and Jigüey streams. The first dam, going from top to bottom, is the Jigüey dam, located around Palo de Caja, San José de Ocoa province. Built at a cost of US$500 million for hydroelectric energy production, it began operations in 1992. The usable volume of the reservoir is 130.95 million cubic meters. Water is conveyed to the powerhouse, located downstream of the reservoir, through a pressure tunnel 6.4 kilometers long and 5.15 meters in diameter. Its installed capacity is 98 megawatts. Energy production in 2020 was 132 gigawatt hours. The turbinated waters together with those of the natural flow reunite and flow on to the Aguacate dam, which is also fed by the Mahomita river. This dam is in Paso El Ermitaño, Peravia province, about 20 kilometers downstream from the Jigüey dam. It began operating in 1992 its cost was included in that of the Jigüey. Its reservoir has a surface area of 0.35 square kilometers and the exploitable volume is 1.46 million cubic meters. The hydroelectric energy is not generated near this dam but rather taking advantage of the precipitous drop in altitude and water pressure, the water is channeled through a concrete-lined tunnel and pressure pipe 10.8 kilometers long, with a diameter of 4.36 meters, to a power plant located in Muchas Aguas, in the province of Peravia, close to the reservoir of the Valdesia Dam,

where it is turbocharged. The installed capacity is 60 megawatts. Energy production in 2020 was 176 gigawatt hours. The waters of the Nizao River, having already been twice turbinated, are conveyed to yet another dam: the Valdesia dam, located near Muchas Aguas, Valdesia section, Peravia province. This dam began operations in 1976 and was the first to take advantage of the waters of this important river. Its construction cost was US$60 million, including the Las Barias counter dam. The surface area of the dam’s reservoir is seven square kilometers, and the usable volume of water storage is 115.55 million cubic meters. The dam serves multiple purposes: it supplies five cubic meters per second for the potable water of the Santo Domingo aqueduct (about half the city’s consumption) and one cubic meter per second for the San Cristóbal and Baní aqueducts. It produces an average of 74.71 gigawatt hours per year as well as supplying waters for irrigation. Utilization continues. The water turbinated at the Valdesia dam returns to the river and is stored in the Las Barias counter reservoir, four kilometers downstream from the Valdesia dam. The reservoir has a water storage capacity of 6.1 million cubic meters. Power production in 2020 was 1.7 gigawatt hours. Depending on crop demand, nine to twelve cubic meters per second of water is diverted to the Marcos A. Cabral canal, which is essential for irrigating some 155,300 to 223,000 tareas (24,134 to 34,654 acres) in semi-arid areas, with avocado and mango groves as well as vegetable crops of high commercial value. Another smaller hydroelectric plant is Nizao-Najayo, with an installed capacity of 0.330 megawatts and an average annual production of 0.57 gigawatt hours. And yet another of 0.110 megawatts in Los Anones, which operates with water from the Nizao lateral that is reliant on the Marcos A. Cabral canal. Along the upper and middle basin of the Nizao River there are excellent balnearios. Those of the Nizao riverbed in La Estrechura and Rancho Arriba, in the Nizao section, stand out. Also, those of Mahomita in Santana and Calderón; in addition, the Tabernáculo La Piedra, La Taína waterfall, next to the Aguacate dam, Los Reyitos, near the Jigüey power plant, El Barco, in Muchas Aguas, and others. The source of the Duey River lies south of the Haina source, at Loma La Humeadora, and flows into the Haina River at one of the water intakes of the Santo Domingo Aqueduct and Sewer Corporation (CAASD), which feeds part of the Santo Domingo aqueduct. Upon approaching the populated area of the municipality of Villa Altagracia, to the north of the province of San Cristóbal, the Haina river is joined by the Guananito river, which almost always carries muddied waters from the area near the town of Juan Adrián and passes through the Guananito neighborhood of this locality. Near the Básima section, the Haina river’s course branches out, due to its regular overspills. In this area, it is fed with waters from the Básima River, which collects many streams and creeks from the Siete Picos National Park and the Loma Novillero Forest reserve. Although they flow along different watercourses, the headwaters of the Isa and Mana rivers are relatively close. They are between the hills Arroyo Grande, at 1,286 meters above sea level, and El Valle, also known as Zona Privada, at 1,123 meters. The forests of this area are regarded as the most pristine in the country. The clear and shallow waters of the Mana River run in a northwest-southeast direction, and in the sector known as El Cidral receives the waters of the plentiful Naiboa stream, which arises in the Loma Puerca Gorda, at 1,000 meters above sea level. Further south is the Isa River, with two dam stations that are well maintained by the Santo Domingo Aqueduct and Sewer Corporation (CAASD). One of the reservoirs sends approximately 2,800 gallons of water per minute by gravity to a pumping station. Even after the intake, the flow and clarity of the water of the Isa are impressive. Both this river and the Mana flow into a small artificial lake built in the river. The names of both rivers are joined, and today it is known as Isa-Mana. Water is drawn from this lake for the pumping station and is added to the water coming from the Isa dam. Approximately 11 million gallons per day are channeled to the Santo Domingo aqueduct. However, during periods of heavy rainfall, the supply is reduced. The waters of the Haina, by now heavily polluted, converge with the Isa-Mana near the embankment which runs from the Duarte to the Medina highway. Strengthened, the Haina feeds a small reservoir called Ochoa, which irrigates small plots of land in Hato

The riverbed of the last 16 kilometers of the Nizao River has reformed many times due to the unregulated extraction of aggregates. Progress has been made in the protection of this portion of the river, but this effort must be sustained. In the place called La Mina, the last stretch near the mouth of the river, is enjoyed by fishermen and bathers alike. Although there are many protected areas throughout the watershed, many of these areas as well as other unprotected sites are being affected by the unregulated clearing of forests for short cycle crops and avocado plantations. The Ocoa River basin, on the western side of the Nizao basin, encompasses an area of 677 square kilometers. This river is 65 kilometers long. In total, it contributes 5.74 and 1.80 cubic meters per second, respectively, to irrigate 38,764 tareas (6.024 acres) and 12,163 tareas (1,890 acres) near the AzuaSan José de Ocoa highway crossing, in the southwest region. During most of the year, the river’s surface water is not visible, but during the rainy season it ravages crops and properties in the final stretches of its course. It opens two and three mouths at the outlet, and deposits huge amounts of sediment. Intense deforestation in the basin area is responsible for accelerating the river’s floods.

This basin is the easternmost of the Central Mountain Range, bordering the Ozama River basin to the east and the Nizao River basin to the west; it occupies an area of 564.4 square kilometers. The Haina River is 82 kilometers long and has an average monthly flow of 9.27 cubic meters per second (measured at El Caobal). Its source is between Loma Zumbador, at 1,400 meters above sea level, and Loma Pío, at 1,420 meters above sea level. It runs within the Loma La Humeadora National Park and flows into the Caribbean Sea, between the estuary and the port of Haina. The lower part of the river separates the provinces of San Cristóbal and Santo Domingo. Its main tributaries are the Duey, Básima and Isa Mana rivers. The Duey System aqueduct provides about 27 million gallons per day to the aqueducts that supply 25 sectors in the northwest of Santo Domingo. The Isa-Mana provides about 11 million gallons per day. The Haina River takes 1.5 cubic meters per second for the irrigation of 5,200 tareas (808 acres) in Hato Nuevo and its surroundings.

Nuevo. To reduce the deficit of potable water in sectors of Santo Domingo, there are plans to build the Haina dam in the vicinity of this one. In the Manoguayabo sector, the CAASD draws water from the river for the operation of the Manoguayabo aqueduct, which supplies some 80 million gallons per day to different sectors of Santo Domingo. The river’s contamination is further compounded as it crisscrosses its way through the urban areas. Discharges of waste from the Guajimía gully and others continue to aggravate its condition as it passes through the mangrove forest that once enriched the estuary, on its way southwest of Santo Domingo to empty into the Caribbean Sea.

This basin occupies an area of 5,283 square kilometers and covers part of the provinces located in the center and north of the country: Monseñor Nouel, La Vega, Sánchez Ramírez, Duarte, Samaná and Espaillat. The river is 203 kilometers long, with an average monthly discharge of 4.44 cubic meters per second (gauged at Piedra de Los Veganos, in the upper basin) and 89.38 cubic meters per second (gauged at Villa Rivas, by now augmented with the flow of most of its tributaries). It emerges in Cerro Montoso, at 1,402 meters above sea level, in the Loma La Humeadora National Park, and flows into the municipality of Sánchez, in the Bay of Samaná, on the northeast coast. The annual rainfall recorded from the source to the mouth of the Yuna River is unique: it accumulates a range from 2,000 to 3,000 millimeters. The maximum of 3,000 millimeters occurs near the confluence of the Blanco and Tireo rivers. An impressive network of tributaries from diverse sources feeds the Yuna River. The Yuna watershed feeds canals supplying nearly one million tareas (155,400 acres), 20 percent of all irrigated areas in the country. It also serves the Pinalito, Blanco, Rincón, Yuboa and Hatillo dams. The five of them generate about 262 gigawatt hours per year. It possesses excellent naturally occurring bathing pools throughout the upper and lower parts of the basin. In addition, it provides water to several aqueducts throughout the Central Cibao. The most important tributaries of the Yuna, such as the Camú, Jima, Blanco, Tireo, Yuboa, Jayaco and Jatubey rivers as well as the Masipedro, Maimón and Sin rivers are in the Central Mountain range. From the Septentrional mountain range, located to the north of the basin, these waters are collected by the Jaiba, Nigua and Cuaba rivers, while the Jaya, Cenoví, Bacuí, Canca and Licey rivers meet up with the Yuna river through the Camú river. The water flow from Sierra de Yamasá feeds the Yuna river basin through affluents like Maguaca, Chacuey and Payabo rivers. In the northwest of the basin, water is collected by the Licey river that includes streams coming near the Santiago de Los Caballeros province. The territory includes portions of 10 protected areas totaling about 599.8 square kilometers, equivalent to 11.3 percent of its surface, most of them containing water-producing rain forests. Some of these areas are the Juan Bautista Pérez Rancier (Valle Nuevo), Loma La Humeadora, Los Haitises, Manglares del Bajo Yuna and Aniana Vargas national parks. The 130 square kilometers of the latter all lie within the watershed and protect the surroundings of the Hatillo dam. Also included are the Ébano Verde, Las Neblinas and Loma Quita Espuela scientific reserves, as well as the Jima Natural Monument, all of which are smaller in size. Although these areas are legally protected, there are still agricultural and livestock activities taking place in and around them. Forest studies have determined that this watershed has the country’s largest populations of royal palm (Roystonea regia), dragon tree (Pterocarpus officinalis) and mangrove (Rhizopora sp). These last two grow in the lower basin, near the mouth of the river. In the upper reaches of the basin, the Yuna River flows clear, with a current and a width of 80 to 100 meters, between broadleaf forests, and banana and coffee plantations. Plans for the new El Torito-Los Veganos hydroelectric complex will entail the construction of five diversion dams. Although the upper course of the river abounds with natural bathing pools (balnearios), the most popular ones begin at the confluence of the Yuna with the Blanco River. Downstream of this confluence, there are plans to build the multi-purpose Piedra Gorda dam. Of note in the upper reaches of the Blanco River is the construction of the dam of the same name, fed by 5.80 cubic meters per second from the Blanco River, and by 2.80 and 1.13 cubic meters per second from the Tireíto and Arroyón streams, respectively. This dam inaugurated in 1996 at a cost of US$150 million, for the purpose of generating hydroelectric power. Its reservoir, built downstream of the confluence of the Blanco and Tireo rivers, has a useable storage capacity of 519,000 cubic meters. The powerhouse is based in Blanco, connected to the reservoir by a closed tunnel 7.4 kilometers long with a diameter of 4.32 meters, and was designed for a flow rate of 11.8 cubic meters per second. The installed capacity is 25 megawatts. Energy production in 2020 was 104 gigawatt hours. With the aim of reducing the sedimentation of the reservoir of the previous dam, and to increase energy production, 10 years later the Pinalito dam was built upstream and close to the Blanco River, at a cost of US$300 million. It is fed by the Tireo River, with waters from the upper Blanco River and its tributaries Caña Amarga and Arroyón, as well as from the Sonador River, with anticipated levels of close to 1.5 million cubic meters in the reservoir and an annual production of 142 gigawatt hours. The fact is that the sub-basins of these rivers, especially that of the Tireo in the mountains of Cruz de Cuaba, are so deforested and eroded by the cultivation of vegetables and inappropriate soil management that the expected flows have not been obtained. Consequently, neither has the programmed energy production. In 2020, 81 gigawatt hours were produced. The greatest damage in the Tireo Valley is estimated to be the loss of about 375,000 cubic meters of soil per year and the risk of sedimentation of the reservoirs of the Pinalito dam and the others further downstream. This demonstrates once again that, without the proper management of mountain soils, especially regarding tree cover, there is no production or orderly flow of water. Downstream from the confluence of the Blanco and Yuna rivers, the river receives water from the Avispa, Piedra Gorda, Toro and other streams, each with clean water bathing spots. Strengthened in its volume and its current, the river slides through a canyon of green mountains, providing many excellent balnearios. A water intake for the area’s aqueduct is found in the area known as El Dique (The Dike). Near the Los Quemados junction the river is used for boating, a recreational activity with

great potential for tourism. Another tributary of interest is the Masipedro River, source of the renowned Balneario Masipedro, which is very popular with tourists. The Masipedro Canal, which irrigates large rice-growing fields, is also fed by the Masipedro River. Between the northeast of Bonao and the north of Buena Vista, in the city of Jarabacoa - in the Central Mountain Range - an impressive network of rivers intertwines, replenished by the heavy rains enriched in the area’s exuberant vegetation and the altitude of Loma Miranda, as well as other streams formed throughout the mountain range. Although it may be difficult to find an unpolluted stretch once past the municipality of La Vega, the Camú River is crystal clear in the heights of Guaigüí where the construction of a dam has begun but has been suspended for the moment due to contractual difficulties. The Camú serves to provide water for human use, irrigation, as well as feeding water to the Yuna from the municipality of Pimentel. In this area, the Jima River is worthy of mention, along its course, within the Saltos de Jima Natural Reserve, there is a flight of four breathtaking waterfalls and natural bathing pools with fresh, crystalline waters. The reserve can be reached by taking the Duarte Highway from north to south, turning right to the community of Caño de Piedra. It is one of the region’s most visited ecological areas. North of Jima-Sabana del Puerto is the Jagüey, Jayaco and Jatubey rivers. The first is a course of crystalline, fresh waters with a dozen swimming holes, most notably the one known as Acapulco. Its affluents are the Azafrán, Colorá as well as others. The second river is Jayaco, near Sabana del Puerto, where there are a series of bathing areas called Fula, Peñón (Boulder) 1; Fula, Peñón 2 and others. In the summer, the mob of vehicles and noise pollution make it difficult to enjoy. The last river, Jatubey, runs along a rocky bed with minimal flow, even in times of heavy rains. These three rivers, together with the Hatillo Creek and, principally, the Jima River, with a regulated flow of 8.6 metric cubic meters per second, feed the Rincón Dam. This dam inaugurated in 1978, built at a cost of US$24.3 million to serve multiple purposes. The surface area of the reservoir is 6.9 square kilometers and holds an effective storage volume of 58 million cubic meters. The reservoir is accessible at both of its ends by two distinct routes. One of the roads is along the Duarte highway, with a detour to the right (from south to north), in front of Sabana del Puerto. To reach the other end, take a right at the intersection of the road to San Francisco de Macorís, and then another right towards Rincón. The country’s only formal rowing and canoeing school is found at one end. Many of its alumni have gone on to participate in international competitions. At the foot of the dam’s dike on the other side, is the powerhouse, which operates with a 40-meter drop and a flow of 30 cubic meters of water. The installed power is 12.63 megawatts. Energy production in 2020 was 20 gigawatt hours. 17 million gallons per day are extracted from the reservoir for the aqueducts of San Francisco de Macorís, Salcedo (Hermanas Mirabal province) and the Municipal District of Cenoví. The turbinated water is then used for irrigation of 118,000 tareas of rice (18,337 acres) in Jima Abajo. To ensure the supply of water for irrigation, a counter reservoir with a storage capacity of 222,000 cubic meters was built 1.5 kilometers from the dam. If one were to judge solely from the intersection of the Maimón River with the Duarte Highway its importance would be severely underestimated. There is much more to this watercourse. Before joining the Yuna River in Hato Viejo, Hatillo, it has already gathered with it the courses of the other important rivers and streams that originate in and around the Loma La Humeadora National Park, which, like a spider’s web, intersect throughout the surroundings of the Municipal District of Juan Adrián. The Los Plátanos River is the main tributary of the Maimón River, wherein most of the other fluvial sources converge, such as the Zumbador and Pedregal streams, each of which, in their turn, receive water from the other components of these networks. The clarity of the waters of these springs and the falls and pools the currents produce, of which Gajo de las Flores and La Estrechura are the best examples, are outstanding. Between the south and southeast of Bonao, a city located an hour and a half north of Santo Domingo, and the course of the Maimón River, in Piedra Blanca-Hato Viejo, the Yuna receives the waters from the Yuboa River. This, in turn, has received water from the Sonador River, from many streams and mainly from the Juma River, highly appreciated for bolstering the irrigation of paddy fields in the area. The Aniana Vargas hydroelectric plant, in Rincón de Yuboa, 400 meters above sea level, operates in the upper basin of the Yuboa River and was built at a cost of RD$34 million, including remodeling. The installed capacity is 0.600 megawatts and energy production in 2020 was 0.787 gigawatt hours. The Yuna River, with its volume enhanced by other river sources, enters north of Hato Viejo into the majestic reservoir of the Hatillo Dam, 22 square kilometers and 15 kilometers long, the largest in the country and in the entire Caribbean. It forms a sea of fresh water of 710 million cubic meters. The Sin River and several streams also feed the reservoir. Access to the southern end of the dam is by road from the town of Maimón; the northern end can be reached through the town of Hatillo, in the province of Sánchez Ramírez, located in the central region of the island. The dam and its facilities were completed in 1984 at a cost of US$41 million. Although the original purpose of the dam was to reduce the flooding caused by the Yuna during rainy seasons in the Bajo Yuna and surrounding areas, this work currently provides important additional services: it provides irrigation water to some 199,000 tareas of rice fields (30,925 acres) in the Duarte province and remote areas of the María Trinidad Sánchez province, aided by an extensive network of canals built in the Aglipo I and Aglipo II projects. A powerhouse is located at the foot of the dam’s dike and has an installed capacity of eight megawatts, which is currently being increased to 10.7 megawatts. Power production in 2020 was 56.8 gigawatt hours. In addition to net fishing, the reservoir is home to the country’s largest freshwater cage fish farming operation. The practice of water sports, including a fishing tournament, as well eco-tours have helped to endorse the designation of the reservoir as a tourist hub and part of the Aniana Vargas National Park. Once past the dam, the direct and indirect tributaries of the Yuna River increase in number from all directions. On the Payabo, Maguaca and Chacuey rivers, tributaries of the Yuna from the Sierra de Yamasá side, there

are plans to build dams. However, several organizations have denounced that mining contamination problems in the area must be resolved first. The primary function of the Yuna as it passes through Villa Rivas, Arenoso, Limón del Yuna, Guaraguao and other places continues to be the irrigation of rice fields. The riverbed averages 180 meters in width, with chocolate-colored waters. Despite its color, the waters’ reflection amid the rice paddies are extraordinarily pleasing, as is the Laguna Cristal (Crystal Lagoon). Although navigation on the Yuna is not as popular as it used to be, it is possible to do so along the stretches of Villa Rivas, Las Coles, Agua Santa, and other places along this stretch of river.

Downstream, the Yuna receives water from the Guayabo River, which itself is fed by several streams and lagoons. However, its main affluent is the Barracote River. This and the Yuna flow into the waters of Samaná Bay, in Sánchez, on the north coast of the country, and form the largest estuary and mangrove complex in the Dominican Republic, enriched by a diverse fauna composed of fish, shrimp, crayfish, pelicans, waterhens, gulls and other species. The commercial production of fish and shrimp provides a livelihood for thousands of families in the area.

Located in the province of San Cristóbal, just southwest of the Dominican capital, the Nigua River basin covers 208 square kilometers. It is 37 kilometers long and has an average monthly flow of 1.36 cubic meters per second (gauged at El Tablazo). It has its source in the southeastern foothills of the Central Mountain Range in the Loma Los Calimetes, at 1,035 meters above sea level. This source is next to the Blanco stream, one of the main tributaries of the Isa River. The nearest community is Los Calimetes and a little further away is the town of Los Cacaos. The mouth of the river is at Boca de Nigua beach, in the Caribbean Sea, used by local fishermen and visitors from all over the region. The Nigua riverbed has been seriously degraded by the continuous and large-scale extraction of aggregates for construction activities. Excavators, dump trucks, motorcycles, and bulldozers performing these activities used to be a common sight in the vicinity of Hato Damas. Although they can still be seen in the area, the authorities have cracked down on enforcement and increased penalties against violators. Since the 1960s, when the river once marked the easternmost boundary of the city, aggregate extraction and deforestation of the watershed have caused uncontrolled flooding and moved the river course through the urban center itself, thus contaminating it with solid waste and chemical pollution. The famous Balneario La Toma is in this basin, which rises in the springs adjacent to the Cuevas del Pomier, in the city of San Cristóbal. Its waters are clear and feed the municipality’s aqueduct. The waters from the artificial pool of the balneario are discharged into the Nigua River. The main sub-basin of the Nigua is the Yubazo River, which begins in the Loma La Cuchilla de Desboronado, 800 meters above sea level, and very close to the communities of La Cabirma and La Colonia. The waters of this river are almost always dirty, while those of the Nigua, due to its sandy bed and medium-sized pebbles, are clean. When the two converge, about 400 meters after the first bridge that joins San Cristóbal with Santo Domingo, the name of the Yubazo River prevails, as if it were the main river. The name of the Nigua River is reclaimed as it leaves the municipality of San Cristóbal, on its way to the river mouth. At this bridge which joins the municipality of San Cristóbal with Santo Domingo, the waters of the Nigua River flow under the bridge towards the sea. On the other hand, near the bridge, one can see the pipe that brings water from the Nizao River at the Valdesia dam to supplement the Santo Domingo aqueduct. An image worthy of thought.

The Yásica River basin covers approximately 837 square kilometers making it the largest watershed in all the Atlantic water system. Ninety-eight percent of its area falls within the northern province of Puerto Plata, and the rest in the province of Santiago. The Yásica River is 81 kilometers long and has an average monthly flow of 26 cubic meters per second (measured at Los Brazos). Its source is on the Las Yayitas hill, 940 meters above sea level, near the town of the same name located in the Municipal District of Pedro García, province of Santiago. The basin is in an area of high rainfall, with a minimum of 1,800 and a maximum of 2,600 millimeters. This condition, together with the mountainous topography of much of its territory, reforested, and the karstic nature of the terrain, has resulted in the formation of a considerable number of rivers, streams and ravines that make it the largest water-producing basin in the Northern Mountain Range. The above conditions have also resulted in a wealth of natural swimming holes, pools, and springs, many of them with turquoise waters giving this watershed first place in the country’s natural freshwater tourism market. Jamao Ecotours organizes many excursions to these tourist sites. The three mouths of the Yásica River are home to a wealth of fauna and abundant fisheries. One of them is a popular windsurfing spot. According to the latest statistics, forest cover in the watershed is 46 percent. If cocoa, coffee and mangrove plantations are included, it increases this figure to 58 percent. However, most of the upper sub-basins are predominately used for cattle ranching, putting the river’s resources at risk. The main tributary of the Yásica River is the Jamao River, whose source lies in the midst of cattle pastures and cacao plantations. This river, because of its color, could very well be called the Blue Jamao, indeed, bluer than the famous Danube in many of its stretches. The headwaters of the Partido River, which is nine kilometers long, together with the Caños Claro and Jagua Macho streams, lie more than 560 meters above sea level, the highest altitude in the country for a karst area. This is one of our most frequented rivers. It is accessible through Jamao del Norte or through the municipality of Salcedo, a city in the central region of the country. There are also five important drainages that supply their waters to the Yásica River through the Pedro García River. These are born in the hills of Alto del Guazaral and Palo Alto, at 947 and 900 meters above sea level, respectively, in whose proximities coincide with the basin of the La Esperanza River, an important tributary to the upper part of the Bajabonico river basin. Other water-based tourist attractions in the region include the waterfalls of Los Bueyes,

Tinacón, Arroyo Frío, Las Golondrinas, Hongo Mágico, Cola de Pato, Cabarete Lagoon, and others. Jamao Ecotours, a community association composed of 21 members and backed by 20 experienced guides, is the leader in the organization of adventure trips, such as kayaking, hiking and others. These activities can generate between RD$10 and RD$12 million a year. The association, together with other agencies, develops several sustainable community tourism activities, which have won awards at one of the editions of the International Tourism Fair (FITUR), held in Spain. There are four protected areas in this watershed, totaling 89.94 square kilometers: La Tinaja Natural Sanctuary, Cabarete Lagoon and La Goleta Natural Monument, La Cumbre Scenic Byway, and La Salcedoa Scientific Reserve. The latter covers the largest area: 41.17 square kilometers. The wetlands created by the Yásica River could be considered perhaps the most important on the country’s Atlantic coast. Part of the limits of the lower basin cross the karstic zone of the Choco or Cabarete Lagoon. The Catalina River, the last tributary of the Yásica before its mouth, includes as part of its watershed the Cabarete karst as well as the Caño Hondo drainage. The Yasica merges into the Atlantic Ocean through three mouths, preceded by stretches of great scenic beauty and a rich and diverse flora and fauna, consisting of turtles, crabs, fish, birds, and others. Windsurfing is practiced in one of the mouths and in the farthest one, called Caño Orí, there is the largest mangrove population in the province of Espaillat. There are active fisheries at all three of the river’s mouth.

The basin comprises the provinces of Hermanas Mirabal (52 square kilometers), María Trinidad Sánchez (351.07 square kilometers) and Duarte province (222 square kilometers), for a total of 625.07 square kilometers. The Boba River is 91 kilometers long and has an average monthly flow of 18.50 cubic meters per second (measured at Los Jengibres). At its source, the main tributaries are streams and creeks, including the Hormigosa, Colorado, Blanquito and Arroyo Grande creeks. The first sub-basin in the upper part is that of the Canete River, in the middle part that of the Venus River and towards the lower part the Jagua River takes over. The watershed lies within portions of four protected areas with a total of 68.65 square kilometers. These are: La Gran Laguna or Perucho Wildlife Refuge; Salcedoa Scientific Reserve; Loma Guaconejo Scientific Reserve; and Loma Quita Espuela Scientific Reserve, the largest with an area of 59.29 square kilometers. Arboreal coverage in this watershed is 336.35 square kilometers, for 53.80 percent of the total. Of these, 38 percent are forest strata, the rest are cocoa plantations. The greatest concentration of forests lies in the hills of La Canela, Quita Espuela and Loma Guaconejo, all of which are in protected areas. In the area between Loma Quita Espuela and the coastal zone of the basin, annual rainfall reaches a maximum of 3,000 millimeters and a minimum of 2,000 millimeters. This condition and the tree cover favor the formation of many micro-wetlands that, during rainy periods, expand the flooded areas of the lower basin. As a result, the waters of the Boba River mix easily with those of the sea. The Boba River feeds irrigation canals covering nearly 48,000 rice fields (3,018 hectares). It also supplies water for the operation of the Rosa Julia de la Cruz hydroelectric plant, built in Los Memizos de Nagua in 2006, with an installed capacity of 800 kilowatts. There are plans underway to increase this capacity shortly. Energy production in 2020 was 0.347 gigawatt hours. There is another dam in the evaluation phase, with an installed capacity of 25 megawatts. Another important use of the basin is the multiple aqueducts of Nagua, built at a cost of RD$1,923 million and inaugurated in 2009. It is fed by a flow of 0.5 cubic meters per second from the waters coming from the Arroyo Los Morones, in the Loma Quita Espuelas. The Baquí river basin covers 292 square kilometers and borders the north side of the Boba River basin. The Baquí River runs 38 kilometers. Five precursors of its possible source area are near Loma La Vigía, 465 meters above sea level and five kilometers west of Palmarito. These precursors are Los Arroyos, Caño Amarillo, Pocilga, Tierra Mala, Bejuquito and another unnamed, which join with the La Descubierta stream and form the Baquí River. Sometimes Sabana Creek is cited as its source, but this is one of its tributaries. Once the river passes through Carrasco, it reaches Las Abejas where it receives water from the Blanco River and, further on, at Los Rincones de Boba, it receives water from the Perucho River. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean, about three kilometers from Laguna Grande or Perucho. The Baquí serves for the irrigation of rice paddies, but the deforestation at the watershed washes away large amounts of sediment obstructing many segments of the river’s course, including its mouth. This situation provokes flooding in many areas. This river, together with the Boba River and several streams such as Zanjón, La Garza and Los Lebranches, provides water for the wetlands of the Gran Laguna or Laguna Perucho, an area of 15.14 square kilometers, protected as a wildlife refuge, 15 kilometers from the Nagua-Cabrera highway, on the northern coast. Given the biodiversity of this wetland, its scenic beauty, the bounty it provides the local fishermen, and the tourism it attracts, this is a precious jewel to be nurtured with great care. The bodies and reflections of water, the mangroves, the 30 species of fish, the 11 species of coastal flora, and the 21 species of birds, including ducks that migrate from the cold zones to winter here from November to March, are astonishing. Yet another nearby watershed is that of the Nagua River. It is 249 square kilometers in size, borders the southern side of the Boba River basin and shares with the other two the eastern slopes of the Septentrional mountain range. The Nagua River is 57 kilometers long and its average monthly flow is 2.89 cubic meters per second (measured at Cinta Negra). The main streams and creeks that originate from its source are found in the Loma Quita Espuela. They include Los Bracitos, Quebrada Prieta, Los Guineos, Arroyo Mundito, Yabacoa, Brazos Grande and Guaconejo. The two sub-basins that contribute water to the upper part of the Nagua River belong to the Helechal and Riote Rivers, while El Factor joins at the lower part of the basin. In the Loma Guaconejo Reserve, remnants of centennial forest can still be observed. Finally, several streams of small watersheds, severely sullied by human activity, are found

between El Macao, Piedra Blanca Arriba, and Los Pilones. Their watercourses, together with those of the Nagua River, reach the rice paddies and undergo numerous modifications in many stretches. The Nagua River approaches the sea between isolated areas of badly damaged mangroves and polluted waters. It flows into Escocesa Bay, in an area used as a seaside bathing area. The estuary of this river was once one of the country’s major crab producers.

This watershed has a surface area of 2,740 square kilometers and includes part of the provinces of San Cristóbal, Santo Domingo and Monte Plata, the latter being located northeast of the Dominican capital. The Ozama River runs 136 kilometers, and has average monthly flow is 5.97 cubic meters per second (gauged at Don Juan). It emerges as small clean springs in Rancho de Yagua, Siete Picos National Park in the Sierra de Yamasá, 856 meters above sea level, and flows into the Caribbean Sea. In its lower basin it marks the administrative boundary between the National District and the municipality of Eastern Santo Domingo. Rainfall in this area is high, favored by the crossing and repose of the trade winds over the Sierra de Yamasá. The basin also benefits from the inclusion of part of the Los Haitises water reservoir, which provides groundwater along with about 90 streams that feed into the main course of the Ozama. The principal tributaries are the Isabela, Verde, Máyiga, Guanuma, Yamasá, Mijo, Savita and Yabacao rivers. There are many clear water bathing spots on the upper reaches of its tributaries as well as other of similar ilk on the plains of Monte Plata. Portions of the following protected areas are located within an area of the watershed: Siete Picos, Humedales del Ozama and a small portion of Los Haitises national parks; the Loma Novillero Nature Reserve; natural landmarks such as Salto de Socoa and Salto Grande; and the Sierra Prieta Biological Reserve. Altogether, they total 135.93 square kilometers (4.81 percent) of the watershed. The soils in the basin area are generally of a heavy clay texture and easily cloud the waters. The excessive number of housing, industry, and agricultural operations on riverbanks and in the surroundings of the Ozama and its tributaries pollute and deprive the water of oxygen, engendering a myriad of negative consequences, including the severe limitation of its potential for tourism. In the rural areas of the basin, cattle ranching is predominant, followed by shade-grown banana and cacao plantations. Several governmental and non-governmental institutions are promoting these latter types of plantations. Ozama’s main tributary is the Isabela River, which originates in the Loma El Pilón, some 840 meters above sea level, in the Siete Picos National Park. Unlike the others, however, it joins the former only a short distance from its mouth, outside the Simón Bolívar neighborhood in the National District of Santo Domingo. Although both sources lie within proximity of each other, the Ozama descends on the right side of the sierra, with a northwest and then south course, and the Isabela descends on the left side, to the southwest, at the bottom of the canyon formed by the Loma Novillero with the west face of the sierra, in the city of Villa Altagracia. This river, after passing behind the military camp at kilometer 25 of the Duarte highway, with relatively clean waters, is then contaminated with industrial and domestic waste. It then reaches the Mirador Norte Park, where it is protected by a five-kilometer green strip and, further on, is replenished by the clean waters of the Higüero River. It continues with a width of 175 meters until it reaches the confluence with the Ozama, where it relinquishes its name and its reputation as a polluted river, along a course almost 300 meters wide. A little further south, in the so-called Nuevo Domingo Savio, composed mainly of the capital’s neighborhoods of Los Guandules and La Ciénaga, the Dominican government has completed the reorganization of infrastructure and services on the west bank of the Ozama. The aim is to reduce the destructive impact on the river and foster the economic development of the area, especially that of tourism. Other noteworthy riverbeds and courses are those of the Toro, Guanuma and Guáyiga rivers, a tributary of the latter, all with wide beds with crystalline waters, appreciated by bathers and fishermen. The Guanuma, after being nourished by the waters of several streams and creeks, La Leonor being the most important, flows down through Los Botados and, after receiving waters from the Yamasá River, it finally meets with the Ozama River in Batey Nuevo, both of them being by this time already polluted. Also of note is the confluence of the Ozama and the Yabacao, near the Los Naranjos bridge. The width and flow of the Yabacao up to this point, enriched with waters from Los Haitises, is greater than that of the Ozama. Thereafter, the Ozama increases in width and volume of flow. One of the most impressive arrays of biodiversity to found within this watershed lie within the protected area of los Humedales del Ozama National Park (the Ozama Wetlands). Here varieties of flora and fauna as well as navigable lagoons abound. In the wetlands, waterhen yaguas, kingfishers, flamingos, hicoteas, ducks, fish of different species and herons thrive, which greatly enhances its value as a tourist attraction. It extends 16 kilometers in a southeast-northeast direction to Las Mercedes, where there are also navigable lagoons and cast fishing practiced. The proliferation of lilacs, bulrushes, and cattails suffocate many areas of the lagoons. Los Humedales del Ozama can be reached by the road that leads to La Victoria, northeast of Santo Domingo, or by the Juan Pablo II highway, via Las Mercedes. The incursion of bathers to the rivers in the middle basin is constant, especially on summer days, even Mondays. The Guanuma, Máyiga, Toro and Higüero rivers are among the favorites. Other places in the basin, relevant for visitors are: El Cachón de La Rubia, a spring of crystalline waters and beautiful landscapes; Salto Alto, five kilometers from Bayaguana, which is formed by three water falls cascading into a large pool, and Comate, bathing area located three kilometers from Bayaguana. There is also Comatillo, a bathing resort close to Comate, and Salto de Socoa, a beautiful waterfall in the river of the same name, near Gonzalo, in Sabana Grande de Boyá, accessible by a stone road, by an exit on the right side of the Juan Pablo II highway. The abundance of water in this basin provides adequate supply to the aquifers, which are tapped by several aqueducts and wells that extract about 36 million gallons per day, some of which are threatened by urban sprawl. However, only two aqueducts

take water directly from the river. The main one draws from the Ozama between three and four cubic meters per second of water at the Los Naranjos dam in the San Luis Municipal District. This dam also acts as a barrier to contain the saline intrusion that reaches upstream as far as six kilometers from the sea inlet. It provides drinking water to about 30 percent of the water consumed by sectors of Santo Domingo East. The source of the other aqueduct is the Isabela River, downstream from its confluence with the Higüero River. This supplies part of the drinking water consumed in several sectors of Santo Domingo, for the most part, on the north-northwest side. In both aqueducts, water is made potable in highly efficient facilities. Cast fishing is practiced from the mouth of the Ozama until nearing the salinity barrier but is most active from the mouth to a little north of the confluence of the Ozama and Isabela rivers. The most common species are tilapia, snook, and biajaca. There are crabs and freshwater shrimp in several of the rivers. It is possible to travel by boat up to the salinity barrier at Los Naranjos. Navigation by barge would depend on how pervasive the hyacinth lilacs are. River excursions to Santo Domingo Norte National Park and other parts of the Ozama and Isabela could become more common if these rivers were cleaned up. The most notable agricultural irrigation development is the Mijo River dam at Hacienda Estrella, built at a cost of RD$6 million in 1990, for irrigation of 15,000 tareas (2, 331 acres) of rice fields and to mitigate flooding in the area. This river merges into the Ozama River past the dam’s outlet. The tranquility that embodies the surroundings and the exuberant variety of fauna to be found there imparts the area with great potential as an Eco touristic destination. In addition to the Nuevo Domingo Savio the installation of a wastewater plant on the Isabela River, which will collect 27,000 gallons of wastewater from 34 sectors of Santo Domingo, process it and then return it clean to the river has been another important intervention. Similar initiatives are underway.

The Brujuelas River belongs to one of the sub-basins close to that of the Ozama River. It is visible in the areas of Brujuelas, Sabana de Guabatico, about 10 kilometers east of Bayaguana, in the province of Monte Plata. Given the excessive rainfall of the region and the flooding that ensues in many areas, its source is often confused with the Yabacao River basin and the surrounding irrigation canals. For the same reason, the river’s course is also sometimes mixed up with the Brazo de Brujuelas stream, which is born further upstream and merges with the river in the town called La Horqueta. The river’s aquifers feed the Brujuelas-Casui well system, which years ago drew up to 15 million gallons of water per day for the aqueduct of the municipality of Boca Chica, located 30 minutes east of Santo Domingo. However, the flow of the river has been decreasing as has the yield of its wells. The discharge of refuse, deforestation in some areas and the improper management of septic tanks undermine the health of the river and aquifers. The river traces a serpentine course of almost 40 kilometers, but on the way to the sea it goes underground to the lagoons Los Anones, Los Charcos, and others, some six kilometers from Boca Chica beach, near the northeast of the town of La Vigía, a few meters north of kilometer 36 on the Mella highway. The waters arrive to the beach as a series of small springs. The most important drainage in this area is the Tosa River, the main tributary of the Brujuelas River. This river together with the Santana stream, which originates in the hill of the same name, at an altitude of 239 meters above sea level, provide a significant addition to the flow of the Brujuelas River. The scarcity of forest cover in the upper watershed has persisted since the 1980’s. There are cattle operations present throughout these scraps of forest, but they extend into the surrounding watersheds. In the lower watershed the presence of forest is more pronounced. An aerial view of the submerged river path transmits a powerful message: a winding strip of riparian forest, companion, and guardian of the river’s waters.

This basin covers an area of approximately 58 square kilometers within the central region of the Samaná peninsula. The peninsula lies in the northeast of the north coast of the country. The Limón River receives this name after the confluence of the Chico creek with the Cuerno creek. The fact that the former follows the same course as the Limón River suggests that it is its possible precursor. It originates in wetlands between the communities of Arroyo Chico Arriba, La Hormiga and La Lambedera, at altitudes of 250 and 320 meters above sea level. The Limón River flows from south to north and empties into the Atlantic Ocean near Cayo Limón (Limón Key). The only sub-basin in this area is the Arroyo del Diablo, which flows downstream from the famed Salto del Limón. The Bonilla, Palmarillo and El Boyero streams are three other tributaries which contribute negligible amounts to the river’s flow. The Bonilla runs on the surface for about 300 meters and then goes under ground. It is the main source for the aqueduct of the community of El Limón, including the recreational attractions. It is believed that one of the alternatives to increase this inadequate water supply is to take advantage of the waters of the Zurdido stream, in the La Cueva area, on the road to Samaná. The famous Salto del Limón is in this basin. It is one of the dazzling sites on the eco-tourism circuit to be found in the northeastern region of the country. The falls drop from a height of 40 meters and form a pool of different depths to refresh and delight hikers and bathers alike. The Salto del Limón Community Ecotourism Association manages its operations. The site is also frequented by mountain climbers and photographers. The Falls are part of the protected area known as the Salto del Limón Natural Monument, which spans 16.5 square kilometers, 95 percent of which is located within this watershed. The site can be reached from the community of El Limón, located between Las Terrenas and Santa Bárbara de Samaná, on horseback or on foot, with the help of guides available on site. Despite its beauty and the economic benefits it generates for the surrounding communities, visits have had to be stopped on several occasions due to the diminution of water flow. The country’s Academy of Sciences identified agricultural activities, deforestation, diversion of water resources, as well as the road construction upstream of the waterfall as the main causes. The permanent species cover of the watershed is primarily dominated by coconut

plantations. It is estimated that forests represent no more than 10 percent of the total area, and there are even heavily despoiled areas in and near Salto del Limón itself. It is interesting to note that the current boundaries of the protected area do not include the wetlands, where the main tributaries of the Limón River lie. The mouth of this river has suffered less impact than its source area. In other distinct but nearby basins, there are three other rivers worth mentioning. The Cosón River, in the community of the same name, is 1.5 kilometers long and has an average flow of only 250 liters per second. It is the main source of surface water for the Las Terrenas aqueduct, a town located in the northern part of the country and a tourist destination of great importance. The water is processed, stored in large tanks and distributed to the users. However, as this supply is inadequate for the demands of the community, government authorities have plans to add the also meager flow of the nearby Balatá River, to supplement that of the Cosón. The vein at the source of the Cosón River is visible in the coastal plain at the foot of a mountain about 35 meters high, mostly covered by trees and shrubs. There are traces of moderate agricultural activities. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean. There is a balneario next to mouth of the Balatá. The proposal of a cool freshwater dip in proximity to the salt water of the beach offers an experience few can resist. The last of the three rivers is the San Juan. Its watershed covers approximately 49 square kilometers. It originates near the town of Los Algarrobos, 3.5 kilometers northeast of the city of Samaná, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean near El Valle beach. Among its tributaries are the Grande Creek, in its upper basin, and the Majagua River, in the lower. Samaná’s aqueduct is being adapted to use the San Juan River as its main source of water.

With a surface area of 1,161 square kilometers, the Higuamo river basin is the largest in the eastern region of the country. It encompasses part of the provinces of San Pedro de Macorís and, for the most part, the province of Hato Mayor. The river is 70 kilometers long and has a historical monthly average flow of 3.00 cubic meters per second. Its source is in the vicinity of the San Rafael colony, affected by the town’s domestic activities and cattle ranching. Its most important tributaries are the Maguá, Casuí and Guamira rivers. The Higuamo River is the only river in the eastern region with headwaters adjacent to those of its tributaries. The Casuí River is about three linear kilometers to the west. Both streams are adversely affected by the intensive farming activity on the lands lying between them. On the other hand, the source of the Guamira is approximately 1.3 kilometers east of Colonia San Rafael. The Casuí River receives most of its water from Los Haitises National Park, located in the northeastern part of the country. Because of this, its flow is more stable than those of the Higuamo’s other tributaries. This river also has the benefit of having in its sub-basin several forested areas that, although patchy, contribute to its water production. The areas near La Clara and Palmarejo deserve special mention, as well as those near the Castellano area, which reach the Yabacao River, a tributary of the Ozama, as well as the area near the confluence with the Maguá River. The river with the least arboreal growth in its upper basin is the Higuamo itself. Of all the rivers in the eastern region of the country, the Higuamo has the most polluted lower basin; its estuary is in a terrible state. Most of the industries operating in the city of San Pedro de Macorís empty wastewater into this river with little or no treatment. The same happens with the domestic activities in the houses along the riverbanks. The fauna and its potential for use in the tourism industry have been seriously impaired. There are three dam projects in the Higuamo watershed: one on the Higuamo River itself, another to the west on the Casuí River, and another to the east on the Maguá River. Reforestation of the respective upper watersheds should be a high priority for the authorities.

The area of this basin is 1,004 square kilometers, in terms of surface area, and is the second largest in the eastern region of the country. It covers part of the provinces of San Pedro de Macorís and El Seibo. The river measures 90 kilometers in length and has a historical monthly average flow of 11.52 cubic meters per second (gauged at Paso del Medio). It rises in the heart of the Eastern Cordillera between the Cuarón, Cabeza de Toro and El Coamo hills, at 369, 360 and 460 meters above sea level, respectively. Also in this last hill is the source of the river of the same name, as well as other important aquifers of the Soco River. Its main tributary is the El Seibo River, whose confluence is found in the eastern city of the same name. The source area of the latter is located near the Loma La Herradura. Towards the western part of the upper basin is the sub-basin of the Anamá River, which in turn is fed by three important rivers: the Guaiquía, the Magarín and the Cibao. The course of the latter, in the upper basin, serves as the boundary between the provinces of Hato Mayor and El Seibo. In keeping with the pattern of the other watersheds in the eastern part of the country, tree cover in the headwaters of all tributaries is sparse in the upper watershed and more abundant from the middle watershed to the mouth of the river. Only the Janabo River, between the hills of the same name and Loma Copeyes, at 596 meters above sea level, retains an acceptable tree cover around its source. Near Loma La Herradura, close to the source of the Seibo River, there is still one of the best forest remnants in the eastern region. However, the area is greatly endangered by agricultural activities; the same situation affects the headwaters of the Soco River and its tributary Guaiquía. The headwaters of the Cibao and Magarín rivers lack primary forests but have shaded cacao plantations. For the time being the mangroves in the Soco River estuary area are still very well preserved. Part of this estuary and the mouth of the river, which is up to 300 meters wide, can be seen from the bridge on the road connecting the cities of San Pedro Macoris and La Romana. The most relevant benefits of this basin have to do with fishing, ecotourism, and boating. The Soco is navigable for about six kilometers in the direction of the municipality of Ramón Santana. There is an outfitter that takes local and foreign tourists on a riverboat with a capacity for about 30 passengers from the mouth of the river to that town. There the river averages 90 meters wide and leaves room for pools perfect for

bathing. Excursions are made on a smaller scale in launches and motorboats. Along the way one can admire the riparian forest and the local birds such as coots, yaguazas, and herons. The wellness of the estuary and mangroves favors the proliferation of crabs, shrimp, and fish larvae, which provide economic sustenance for the neighboring communities. The proliferation of boats and seafood restaurants near the mouth of the estuary attest to its prosperity. As it passes through El Seibo, about 0.200 cubic meters per second are extracted from the Soco River to feed the municipality’s aqueduct, which provides service to some 48,000 users.

With an area of approximately 278 square kilometers, this basin covers part of the provinces of San Pedro de Macorís, El Seibo and La Romana in the eastern region of the country. The combined course of the Cumayasa River and its main tributary, the Arroyo Hondo, define the border of the province of La Romana with the provinces mentioned. Practically all the headwater drainages of this basin lie in the plains of the eastern region and on undulating or gently sloping terrain. These areas are dedicated to grazing and sugar cane production. The headwaters of the Cumayasa River do not appear on the maps by that name, but the configuration of the hydrographic pattern of the Hondo Creek corresponds to the same riverbed as the Cumayasa River. Based on this criterion, the origins of Cumayasa could be in Loma La Altagracia, a hill whose maximum altitude is 308 meters above sea level. More than a quarter of the surface area of La Cueva de las Maravillas Natural Monument resides within the watershed’s territory, thus ensuring the surveillance and protection of this area. In addition, it is important to note that this area constitutes about 85 percent of the forest cover of the entire watershed. Therefore, the Cumayasa River’s regular water production depends primarily on the stability of the Cumayasa River and Cueva de las Maravillas Natural Monument. There is no doubt that the Arroyo Hondo sub-basin, which occupies more than 60 percent of the basin’s territory, contributes the largest amount of water to the Cumayasa River. But, the Arroyo Frio, downstream of the river, also contributes to the river’s volume of flow. The greatest display of the value and beauty of this basin is its estuary. The saline water of the sea reaches upstream for about 12 kilometers from the mouth, dressing the riverbed in different shades of green, which match the canyon of cliffs overgrown with a thick grove of mangroves, gumbo-limbo, and other species. In several stretches along its northern shore there are abundant crab caves intertwined with mangrove trees and the waters and little gray crabs crawling along the banks is a common sight. The river is navigable in medium-sized boats for more than 10 kilometers from the mouth of the river. There are also bathing areas, some with public access. The Dulce River belongs to a small basin, adjacent to Cumayasa. The main tributaries are the Nigua, El Caimito and Guaymate streams, which originate in sugarcane fields near Batey Sabana Chavón. Rainfall varies between 1,200 and 1,400 millimeters per year. Although La Romana is the province with the least forest cover in the country, a mere 11.5 percent of its territory, it is noteworthy that in the middle basin and along the banks of the Dulce River, forest cover is abundant. Its estuary is entirely urbanized. In that area there are hundreds of houses on the banks of the river and a marina from which boats sail to Catalina Island and other tourist destinations in the maritime environment of the resort town of La Romana. There is also a dock where large cargo ships dock. In the Altos de Río Dulce sector, there is a natural bathing pool of clear waters, frequently visited by local inhabitants and foreign vacationers alike. Above the swimming spot is the water intake of the aqueduct that serves some sectors of the Central Romana Corporation. This is preceded by an area with thick forest cover.

This territory is approximately 811 square kilometers, distributed among the provinces of El Seibo (235 square kilometers), La Altagracia (398 square kilometers) and La Romana (178 square kilometers). The river is 84 kilometers long and has a historical monthly average flow of 4.97 cubic meters per second (gauged in Santa Lucía). Its origins and main tributaries are located between Loma del Medio and Loma El Aguacate, at 600 and 640 meters above sea level, respectively. The river flows into the well-known Boca de Chavón bay, after skirting below the heights of Altos de Chavón as well as the marina of the famous Casa de Campo tourist complex. This river is one of the best known in the eastern region, celebrated for its impressive natural scenery in parts of its middle and lower basin. Of note are the prominent bluffs along the last six kilometers of the river, which are a major attraction for both tourism and the film industry. Among the main tributaries of the Chavón River are the Chavoncito, Llano, Piedra and, mainly, the Quisibani River, which has the largest sub-basin. At the middle part of the basin, the Sanate River is one of the major contributors to the flow of the Chavón River; its waters also feed one of the aqueducts in the Higüey area. Most of these river courses still have an acceptable amount of arboreal cover in the upper zone of the basin, but, as in the other basins of the eastern region, the greatest concentration of forest cover is in the lower zone, specifically in the area surrounding Casa de Campo and the international airport of this tourist complex. The estuarine bluffs can be found on both sides of the riverbed, with heights varying between 10 and 40 meters, reaching up to 60 meters at some points. Most of the estuary is covered by forest. Many of the mangroves near the mouth were cleared by human activities near the town of Boca de Chavón and the expansion of the Casa de Campo marina. Between El Pintado and El Cuey, El Seibo province, there are plans for a dam to be built on the Chavón river. On the other hand, the La Romana Aqueduct Corporation extracts one cubic meter per second of water for the aqueduct of the latter municipality at the Chavón river embankment bridge, on the road from La Romana to the city of Higüey. Its waters serve nearly 204,000 inhabitants.

This watershed is situated in the province of Hato Mayor, directly east of Los Haitises and north of the Higuamo and Soco river basins. The Yabón River rises in Loma La Tortona, about 440 meters above sea level, between Rompe Trapo and Palo Seco, an area where cattle ranching and small cocoa plantations

are predominant. There is not a trace of forest, not even riparian to be found. A road runs along the boundaries of its headwaters. The Yabón flows into the Atlantic Ocean, in the middle of a swampy area, due to deforestation in the upper basin. In the upper basin, the main contributor to the river’s flow comes from the Culebra stream, which itself has about twenty tributaries in its upper reaches. The Sano River is another important tributary to the Yabon, with its headwaters near Colonia San Rafael. It joins the Yabón a little north of the town of El Valle. Two other tributaries bring water from Los Haitises. The first is the Yanigua river and the second the Piedra stream. Between them, they receive waters from fifteen drainages that originate in Los Haitises National Park. The latest statistics on tree cover in the basin indicate 16.81 percent forest and 16.7 percent cocoa plantations. But there is no such cover in the upper watershed, so the river carries a lot of sediment into the marine-coastal zone and into the Samson channel, which shares its mouth at the sea. There are several natural attractions in the upper basin of the river whose potential as tourist attractions should be studied, especially the Yabón Waterfall, near the community of Vicentillo. The aqueduct which provides water to more than 800 families in the communities of Yabón, Vicentillo, Mancorneta and others is one important use of the river’s waters.

To the east of this basin, up to the west side of the Nisibón River, are other fluvial courses. These are rivers that originate in the eastern mountain range, not far from the sea, into which most of them empty. Consequently, they are short in length. Among them, the Capitán and Las Cañitas rivers, used by nearby inhabitants as bathing establishments. In addition, the Jovero, Jayán and La Yeguada rivers, whose mouths - mainly the last two - are active fishing areas for species that require fresh and salt water. The Magua River (not to be confused with the one that crosses through Hato Mayor) stands out because, like the La Lisa River, its upper reaches are located within the Saltos de La Jalda National Park. The height of this waterfall, 120 meters, surpasses all those in of the surrounding communities are sufficient reasons to conserve this jewel of the Dominican territory and the watershed that sustains it. To the west of this basin is the smaller Nisibón river basin, covering 38 square kilometers, of which 20 square kilometers belong to the province of La Altagracia and the rest are in the province of El Seibo, where the headwaters begin, between the hills of El Aguacate, at 520 meters above sea level, and Picacho, at 380 meters above sea level. More than 90 percent of the river’s course runs along the boundaries of these provinces. The main tributaries of the Nisibón River are Brazo Chiquito, Guamiabano and, in the lower part of the basin, Benito Creek. The riverbeds and canals from several of these feed irrigation canals for rice fields.

the Caribbean. There is also the Cedro River. According to some locals, not so long ago, several species of fish thrived in it, but they are rarely seen anymore. However, in the area where its waters mix with those of the sea, elver fishing is still practiced, a common and very profitable activity in many parts of the area.

This 182 square kilometer river basin lies within the province of La Altagracia, in a high rainfall area. Its topographic profile extends to the eastern end of the Eastern Cordillera. The course of the river is 32 kilometers long and has an average monthly flow of 2.81 cubic meters per second (gauged at La Guama 1). Its source is located near the Loma Los Gafos, 285 meters above sea level, to the southeast of the Nisibón river basin, where some of its tributaries are also born. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean, via the Maimón estuary, in Las Lagunas de Nisibón. The main tributaries of the Maimón River are the Guayabo and Llano rivers, and to a lesser degree the Guanche. The headwaters of the latter two are at Loma Vieja, 736 meters above sea level. The waters of the Maimón River provide irrigation for rice paddies and serve the natural pool that forms part of Ecopark’s ecotourism facilities for the enjoyment of its clients. About 85 percent of the territory of this basin is devoted to cattle ranching; the few clusters of arboreal strata do not exceed 15 percent. Most of them are found in the upper part of the Las Cañas stream, between the hills of Los Gafos, Los Grayumos and Séptimo Cielo, and another near the confluence of the Llano and Maimón rivers. One of the most interesting areas of the lower basin is near the mouth of the river, where there are about 1.37 square kilometers (137 hectares) of mangroves, many water channels and wetlands. The penetration of the sea in the lower zone of the river forms the Maimón estuary and a marsh or albufera. This geographical feature, plus the river’s mangroves and wetlands, are under protection as a wildlife refuge under the Ría de Maimón Wildlife Refuge category, measuring 4.85 square kilometers. Its spectacular beauty, the diversity of its fauna and the fishing resources used by the inhabitants

The surface area of this basin, together with its natural runoff, encompasses approximately 86.8 square kilometers. It is located on the eastern coastal extreme of the island, in the province of La Altagracia. The river is about 38 kilometers long and has a historical monthly average flow of 1.49 cubic meters per second (measured at El Mamey). It emerges along the eastern mountain range, between the Palmarito and Blandino hills, at 440 and 445 meters above sea level, respectively. One of the great wonders to be found in this basin is the Anamuya or Anamuyita Falls, in the village of the same name, some 14 kilometers northwest of the city of Higüey, which can be accessed by a road that leads out of the city towards the famous tourist destination of Punta Cana. Its waters flow over terraced stones and through a series of small waterfalls, which seem to be handmade. Its potential as a tourist attraction has yet to be fully exploited. Currently, more than 70 percent of the territory in the Anamuya River headwaters and its main tributaries in the upper basin is devoted to cattle ranching. Only one tributary near the source, the Gollo stream, in the Loma Palmarito, has tree cover. A particularity of this basin is that the hills with the highest elevations are located approximately in the middle basin and on both

banks of the rivers. One is La Cotorra and the other La Sierra, at 465 and 600 meters above sea level, respectively. Each one has a relatively stable growth of forest cover. In the lower basin, the Mina, Limón, and Los Dajaos streams are the most important tributaries. As in most of the basins of the eastern region, the Anamuya River is more abundant in the presence of woodland in the areas surrounding its mouth. To the southwest, and contiguous to this basin, is the Duey-Yuma River basin, with an area of 75 square kilometers, also situated in the province of La Altagracia. The linked names of the Duey-Yuma and Isa-Mana rivers, in the Haina basin, are the only ones in the country so named. The headwaters of these rivers are not fully defined, but are likely above Loma Vieja, originating from the Canal Maco Oso and Mamoncito streams. There are plans to build the Duey dam further downstream, to the west of the community of Los Cacaos. The plains in this basin exceed 80 percent of its territory, the foremost with this topographic characteristic. On its way to the sea, it flows through a narrow estuary about 1.5 kilometers long, with heights of 5 to 10 meters, and empties into Yuma Bay. The fishery is particularly productive in this area. One issue of concern is that the forest cover of this watershed is much greater in the proximity of the coastal territory than around its source, where pasturelands predominate. While reforestation in these places is important, it is crucial if there is to be enough water to build a dam.

The journey we made for the elaboration of this book gave us the opportunity to reflect, once again, on the values and benefits of our rivers provide for us, the imperative need for their conservation and the great benefits the abundant investments the Dominican State has made in water resources have bestowed. Since the early 1960s, the state has invested US$2.162 billion in the construction of 36 dams, 2,040 kilometers of irrigation canals, dams, water intakes, aqueduct pipelines, treatment plants and other similar facilities for storage, purification, and distribution of water to users. In most cases, these constructions are expected to provide a constant supply of the precious liquid, except in cases of force majeure. Although some productive sectors and segments of the population already face difficulties in obtaining water in the quantity and quality they require, many continue their daily domestic activities and private investments, without thinking about the possibility that the growing demand for water and its decreasing availability may jeopardize their well-being, as well as public and private investments. Others understand water is an indispensable liquid but are ignorant of the relationship between this resource and rivers and their forests. Or they simply do not understand this relationship in its proper dimension. The investments and projects mentioned above have not been made capriciously. The values and benefits of the rivers are evident, some quantifiable and many with tangible results. Agriculture is one of the most dependent and at the same time most profited sectors, and within this sector is that of rice, for which about 1,300,000 tareas (202,020 acres) are sown twice a year, thanks to the fact that 98 percent of the land receives water by irrigation. Data from the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic recorded paddy rice production in 2021 of 1,006,394 metric tons, valued at US$392.9 million. Annual production of beans was 38,335 metric tons valued at US$53.9 million and plantain production for the same period was 2,634 million units, valued at US$427.82 million. In addition to these figures, there are the exports of 23 million crates of bananas, worth approximately US$300 million, avocado and mango exports, close to US$100 million, the production of 5.7 million quintals of industrial tomatoes, worth approximately US$22 million, and many other items that otherwise could not be produced without the water from the rivers. Another sector that has benefited, with quantifiable results, is hydroelectric production, which is vital for the country to continue freeing itself from fossil fuels, spending in foreign currencies and reducing its carbon footprint. The Dominican Republic has 36 dams, with an approximate water storage capacity of 2,189 million cubic meters. Of these, 27 have hydroelectric generation equipment, with an installed capacity of 631.86 megawatts (13 percent) of the country’s total generation park, which in 2021 produced about 1,360 gigawatt hours, seven percent of the net energy supplied in the National Interconnected System (SIN), with a value of US$200 million, which includes the value of production, firm power, and frequency regulation service, according to data obtained from the SIN Coordinating Agency. In all 27 dams with installed hydroelectric capacity, the turbinated water is reused in irrigation canals or returned to the riverbed. In several of them it is used in aqueducts, before and after being turbinated and, in some irrigation canals fed by the reservoirs of the dams, the conveyed water is turbinated and then returned to those canals. The remaining nine dams store water for irrigation, to a greater or lesser extent. In general, all the dams maintain water reserves for times of scarcity, and many were built for the additional purpose of flood control in low-lying areas. In several of them, water sports are practiced as well as cage fish farming, an activity that provides a livelihood for many members of the community. In several parts of the country, attempts to build dams have sparked protests from some sectors, based on concerns about the displacement of human settlements and possible environmental damage. Such concerns should undoubtedly be considered when identifying locations for dams and their design. However, it is necessary that the pros and cons of their construction be analyzed through integrated analyses, including various disciplines, who they favor, what will be the water availability in that region in the medium and long term, and how the condition of the vegetation cover of the potential catchment basin is and could be in affected in the future. The worst that could happen would be postponing the construction of a dam because of misunderstandings only to resume it years later, when the situation has become dire, and the cost is higher. When designing and operating a dam, the ecological flow must be guaranteed to minimize possible disturbances in the intervened area. On the other hand, the maintenance of tree cover in the catchment area of a dam is essential for its operation; it benefits all the agencies that manage this resource as well as the entire country. The choice of sites for dam construction should serve as an opportunity for these agencies to invest economic resources to increase tree cover prior to construction and subsequently in its maintenance.

There are many interesting dam and reclamation projects underway to harness the waters of various rivers. As the imperative is the storage of water, more small dams should be built. In the iconic Ozama, the great effort has been centered on the conservation of the watershed. Once its reforestation has advanced, it is thought that the waters of this river should be dammed before it reaches the municipality of Yamasá not only to take better advantage of them, but also to control the constant flooding of the lower areas. Likewise, the crystalline waters of the Guanuma River should be better utilized in its upper sectors. There are other values and benefits of rivers that are more difficult to quantify, but no less important: scenic value, fishing, mainly in estuaries, recreational and tourist activities in natural pools and fast-flowing streams, the sustenance of flora and fauna, and much more. Given all these values and benefits, the path is clear: we must not permit the repetition of past mistakes, when commercial interests or the ignorance of some individuals have led to the depredation of our watersheds, polluted the rivers, and even dried them completely. Thanks to the continuous efforts of a few governmental and private organizations, we have made progress, but we must continue to act with determination, conscious of the fact that reversing customs and habits of environmental depredation and accumulated environmental destruction require increased efforts and continued economic investment. What can be done? The details of a management and conservation plan for our rivers and watersheds are beyond the scope of this book. We only emphasize here the need to maintain the integrity of protected areas and their biodiversity, mainly in the mountains, to reinforce programs with integrated approaches for the management of watersheds and their surroundings, which will include, among other issues, rehabilitation efforts, support for production alternatives for watershed dwellers, and environmental compensations, both monetary and in services. Restoration of the water catchment areas of the country’s dams should be considered a priority. To act, it is important to recognize that a single institution does not have the capacity to solve the problems of these vital spaces but requires the organized participation of their inhabitants as well as the governmental and non-governmental agencies that have an impact on the area. It is heartening to note that within the social responsibility and sustainable development objectives of several companies in the country, priority is being given to the conservation of the environment and natural resources, as well as support for key communities. Of particular note is the participation of Banco Popular Dominicano and its parent company, Grupo Popular, which for more than two decades has been supporting Plan Sierra, a pioneering public-private partnership in the establishment of integrated production systems, appropriate forest management and community services, which have improved the forest cover and the water network of La Sierra, vital for maintaining the flow of the Yaque del Norte and the supply of water for irrigation, drinking water and hydroelectric power production. Plan Sierra has served as an inspiration and model for other organizations, such as the Sur Futuro Foundation, the San José de Ocoa Development Board, Plan Yaque, Inc, and the Association for the Development of Santiago (APEDI), which are implementing similar initiatives in their respective territories. The Dominican government, through the Presidential Commission for the Regulation and Management of the Yaque del Norte River Basin, also sponsors measures for the benefit of the Yaque del Norte River. The business sector plays a key role in the public agenda on environmental issues, especially through associations such as the National Business Support Network for Environmental Protection (Ecored), which seeks to raise awareness among companies and society in general of the need to incorporate a culture of social responsibility and sustainable development that preserves our biodiversity and natural resources, promoting alliances in the pursuit of the country’s economic, social and environmental development. Banco Popular as one of Ecored’s founders and sponsors, also supports many other initiatives in this area, in conjunction with Fundación Popular, the entity responsible for the social agenda of the Popular Group. In this regard, they have financed several community initiatives aimed at the improvement of the environment and natural resources, as well as providing communities with paths to progress. Noteworthy are the establishment of micro-hydroelectric plants in the south of the country, which bring electricity and drinking water to many settlements, and the construction of artificial lagoons for the purification of wastewater in riparian areas of the Yaque del Norte, through organic methods that reduce the possibility of contamination of many rivers in the area and improve the health conditions of the communities they serve. Another initiative of great importance has been the support of Grupo Popular to the Santo Domingo and Yaque del Norte Water Funds, entities composed of various Dominican companies and institutions, such as the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, the Aqueduct and Sewer Corporation (CAASD), Ecored, the Propagás Foundation, Bepensa, Coca Cola Company, Fundación Popular, Fundación Sur Futuro, Sociedad Industrial Dominicana, S.A., Grupo Universal, Centro para Desarrollo Agropecpecuario y Forestal (Cedaf) and some foreign ones such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and others. Through a trust fund, they provide technical and financial support to the executors of reforestation projects, vegetation cover management and community services that benefit the production and water quality of the Ozama and Isabela rivers and several of their tributaries, together with the Yaque del Norte river and its tributaries. These two funds can serve as benchmarks for the establishment of other similar funds in individual priority watersheds or groups of closely located watersheds. Among the measures included in the river and watershed management and conservation plan, environmental education is no less important. This should involve society as a whole and be preached in schools, streets, rural areas, and universities by knowledgeable people who know how to communicate with clarity, among other things, the ABC of the water cycle and, most importantly, why without adequate tree cover in the mountains we will be left without aquifers and rivers, which are networks of life. *In this book the word “balnearios” refers to the natural pools formed in rivers and spots of shallow waters that make bathing possible and pleasant. Some of the “balnearios”

of this country have been modified with a retaining wall, or steps for safer access, most are simply as made by the forces of nature. When searching for the translation of this word many possibilities arise, such as: Bathhouse, bathing resort, spa, baths, health resort and the like. Nevertheless, none of these words seem to indicate its connotation within, not only the context of this book, but the Dominican Republic as a whole. Throughout this text therefore, I have chosen to alternate between the use of “natural pools”, “bathing spots or pool” and the Spanish word “balneario” itself.

Domingo Marte was born in San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic, on January 3, 1939, near the shore of the Jaya River and spent part of his childhood and adolescence in Nagua, in front of the Scottish Bay. He graduated with a degree in Agronomy from the Loyola Polytechnic Institute of San Cristobal in 1961 and obtained his Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University in 1969, revalidated his degree in Agronomy from the Pedro Henriquez Ureña National University (UNPHU). In 1973 he obtained a master’s degree in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Florida. He has diplomas in Human Development, Cinematography and Photography, and has participated in several workshops on storytelling. He has worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, and The Nature Conservancy. He is a volunteer advisor to Fundación Sur Futuro and the Center for Agricultural and Forestry Development (Cedaf). He has written hundreds of technical articles on agriculture, rural development, and the environment. He published the novel “ Madre de las Aguas” (Mother of the Waters) in 1999, later republished as “La Sonrisa de la Montaña” (The Smile of the Mountain). He was first prize winner of the literary prize sponsored by the O&M University in 2001, with the work entitled “Recuerdos y Memorias de Nagua” (Memories of Nagua); he published “Ecos de la Costa” (Echoes of the Coast), an institutional book of Banco Popular Dominicano, in 2016 and “Frutas en República Dominicana” (Fruits in the Dominican Republic), a work sponsored by the Junta Agroempresarial Dominicana (JAD), in 2020. He has won several awards in short stories and photography, in art and literature contests of the Central Bank and in competitions organized by the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development.