Project Example: Rio Colacho, Acapulco, Mexico
Excessive rains are just one effect of global warming and climate change, yet their impact on cities and villages traditionally built around a river may be significant, especially where runoff water cause rivers to overflow, flood houses and streets, create disasters.
Of course, it is always possible to build concrete walls and a drainage system, but even if the design is based on updated expectation of a 1:50 year or even a 1:100 year event, the result would still be an ugly concrete “bulk” in the heart of a city, superficially separating between people and nature and reducing “benessere” so important to the quality of life. Moreover, this would be going “against nature”, rather than working “with nature”. An approach that is so, well, 20th century.
In Rio Colacho, Acapulco, Mexico, houses were repeatedly severely flooded during times of rain. The purpose of the project was to clean, dissolve and reconstruct the natural bar to restore the hydraulic area, and to elevate the banks with embankment materials.
HYDROTEX® fabric formwork panels were designed and manufactured to custom specifications, utilizing Filter Point concrete linings with a cobbled surface and a relatively high coefficient of hydraulic friction. Lower flow velocities and reduced wave run-up were achieved, providing for the relief of hydrostatic uplift pressures, increasing the system’s stability.
The first phase was 0.8km. Upon completion, the area protected was 7,385m2 on the left margin and 8,140m2 on the right margin.
Left bank shows fabric pre-installation. Right side shows completed works