THE MULTIPURPOSE CASTANHO

DEVELOPMENT ON THE JAGUARIBE RIVER

This paper was written by Ana Teresa Mattos Marques de Sousa Ponte, Keila Margareth Cndido Rolim, Maria Zita Timb Arajo,
Vanda Tereza Costa Malveira with the collaboration of Marcus Henrique Rodrigues Rangel and Getlio Peixoto Maia.
The figures were prepared by Alex Matos.

Main Brazilian Dams III

THE MULTIPURPOSE CASTANHO

DEVELOPMENT ON THE JAGUARIBE RIVER
1. INTRODUCTION
The Castanho dam and reservoir are located on the
Jaguaribe river, in the area by the name of Boqueiro do
Cunha (see Photo 1), in the State of Cear, in the
Northeast Region of Brazil, at 527'S e 3828'W
(see Figure 1).
The National Department for Droughts - DNOCS was
responsible for the project development, that started in
1995 (the tender documents for the civil works were issued
in 1991) and was completed in 2003 by Andrade
Gutierrez Construction Company.
The main purposes of Castanho Dam are: regulation
of the Jaguaribe river, water supply to the riverine
inhabitants and an increase in water supply for the
metropolitan area of Fortaleza, control of floods on the
low Jaguaribe valley, diversion to the Chapada do Apodi
(the Jaguaribe river and Chapada do Apodi 43,000 ha

irrigation system), future hydroelectric development, fish

farms, tourist development and water storage for the So
Francisco River Integration Project.

Figure 1 - Location of Castanho Project

Photo 1 - Aerial View of Boqueiro do Cunha

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Main Brazilian Dams III

2. THE DEVELOPMENT
The development of Castanho includes the following
structures: the main dam, spillway, intake, nine auxiliary
dikes and a plug fuse spillway, as can be seen in
Figure 2 and Photo 2. In the future a powerplant is planned
to be built using waters from the So Francisco River
Integration Project, at present underway.
The first topographical and geological studies in the
Boqueiro do Cunha date from 1910 when the National
Department For Drought Prevention agency, DNOCS
(at that time named IOCS, the Inspectorate for Drought
Prevention Works). In the 1930's and 1950's work
continued on the feasibility studies. In 1982 the National
Department of Works and Sanitation, DNOS hired a
consortium, Noronha - Hidroterra to study the "Integrated
Development of the Water Resources and Land of the
Semi - Arid Northeast Region by Diversion of the Hydraulic
Resources of the So Francisco River", in which the
project of Castanho was included.
In 1987 DNOS hired the Consortium Hidroservice Noronha to elaborate the preliminary and detailed design
of the dam. With the extinction of DNOS in March 1990
all work stopped and the contract was subrogated to the
Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, through the
National Secretariat for Irrigation - SENIR and ceded to
DNOCS. The preliminary design was already finished
before this transfer and the principal features were

Photo 2 - General View of Castanho Dam

maintained in the detailed design.

The decision to build the dam was consolidated by a
public contract based mainly on the preliminary design.
In December 1991 the contract was signed between
DNOCS and Andrade Gutierrez Construction Company
for the dam construction. But construction work only
started in 1995 due to budget restrictions and
environmental requirements.
The final design was forwarded to DNOCS in 1993
and construction works started in 1995, based on the
DNOS preliminary design and the detailed design of
DNOCS.

Figure 2 - Original Design - General Layout

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Main Brazilian Dams III

During construction, the main earth dam section was

modified (see Figure 3). First there were changes due to
the geotechnical conditions of the foundation discovered
with the excavations and secondly when the
homogeneous section earthfill dam was changed to a
roller compacted concrete (RCC) one.
The dam was finished in October 2003 and the
reservoir reached its normal operating elevation
(El. 100.00) in March 2004.

3. GEOLOGY, GEOTECHNICS AND

FOUNDATIONS
The Castanho complex is inserted in a geological
cristalline environment, with gneiss rocks predominating
along the dam axis and with granitic vein intrusions. The
gneiss rock occurs as migmatite gneiss with colors
between medium and dark grey, fine to medium grained
and very fractured, biotite gneiss with tones between dark
and greenish grey, schistose gneiss made of altered clay
associated with minerals from feldspar (with
montmorillonite filling) and granitic gneiss of light, medium
and dark grey tones. Rock fractures are present in various
forms, in many cases horizontal (due to stress relief),
vertical and sub-vertical (due to tension), with various
fillings, from quartz veins, oxidized clay, altered rock and

clay, sometimes sealed, and inclined fractures (caused

by shear). The distribution of these types is as follows:
Left bank: Migmatite gneiss is predominant. Biotite
and schistose gneiss are present in a small section,
near the junction of the earthfill dam and the RCC
structure.
Right bank: The schistose gneiss is predominant on
this bank. Migmatite gneiss appears in a small part of
the upstream side, near the intake. Biotite gneiss occurs
in a section of 300 m long on the river bank.
Middle section: The lithological contacts of the
foundation of the central dam occur in a gradual way,
with granitic gneiss predominant, then migmatite gneiss
in an extension up to 50 m. In the intake section the
lithological contacts are difficult to determine because
they occur in a gradual way, and where only schistose
gneiss has defined limits.
The granitic gneiss occurs in the galleries of the intake
and in a part of the foundation of the intake conduits, the
migmatite gneiss is found at the end section of the
conduits and foundation of the powerhouse/valve house
and the biotite gneiss is found at the intake tower and
approach channel and in small sections along the
conduits.
Spillway: schistose gneiss predominates with an
intense jointing. Several families of fractures intercross

Figure 3 - Final Design - General Layout

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Main Brazilian Dams III

in many places, in such a way that they are all interlaced.

This aspect, associated with the high degree of alteration
and sometimes in a lesser degree of coherence of the
biotite-gneiss, defines a compartmentalization of the rock
mass in blocks of various sizes. The rock near the
surface, which is brittle, breaks when in tension, as
observed in the side walls of the discharge channel and
the right side wall of the approach channel.
Dam: the foundations of the dam were designed with
a cut-off in the sections of homogeneous earthfill. With
the change to a RCC dam in the central section, the
foundation was adapted to this type of dam, which has
the structure based on a rock foundation. As fractures
were found and mapped during the geotechnical studies,
a program for treatment of the foundation along all the
dam was carried out with subsurface grouting. The
foundation treatment procedures were standard cleaning,
treatment and checking of its efficiency.
In this phase of the construction, two depressions
along the rock surface of the river bed were found that
had not been detected during the design stage. The
largest, between stations 24C+0.00 and 26C+0.00, shows
a depression parallel to the riverbed on the bedrock, with
a peculiar size and characteristics, classified as Paleo
Channel, and required a study to optimize the foundation
cutoff. This features has a maximum length of about
80 m and depth of 30 m. A smaller depression between
stations 114C+0.00 and 116C+0 was denominated Paleo
Channel Junior.
The procedures adopted in both cases consisted of
geological/geotechnical mapping to optimize surface
cleaning, treatment and verification of treatment efficiency.
The negative slopes and those that had horizontal
fractures were corrected with conventional concrete.
Where there were water infiltrations, cement grout was
injected and monitored through PVC pipes until stabilizing
when they were sealed. In all of the foundation sections
of the concrete structures, the surface was first
geologically mapped and classified geomechanically
similar to the foundation rock mass, that followed predefined criteria for dams, as can be seen in table 1, with
classes defined according to degrees of coherence and
fracturing of the rock.

4. HYDROLOGY AND HYDRAULICS

The hydrographic basin of the Jaguaribe river at
Castanho dam covers an area of 44,850 km2. The average

rainfall is 745 mm, the mean monthly discharge recorded

is 73 m3/s and the maximum discharge at the dam
23,200 m3/s.
The normal maximum reservoir level is El. 100.00,
which is equivalent to a volume of 4,461 million cubic
meters. The active storage is 4,211 million cubic meters
and corresponds to a 29 m height limit between the intake
conduit (El. 71.00) and the maximum normal reservoir
level (El. 100.00). The dead volume is 250 million cubic
meters. The maximum design flood level is at El. 106.00
and the corresponding volume is 6,761 million cubic
meters, when the reservoir operates as a flood control.
Flood studies focused on the spillway design flood,
the flood routing through the reservoir and the diversion
design flood for planning the diversion works. Table 2
shows the results of the flood study.

Table 2 - Results of Flood Routing through the Reservoir

of Castanho.

The rated intake flow is 100 m3/s, and 70 m3/s refers

to future energy generation.

5. MAIN STRUCTURES
5.1. Main Dam
The original detailed design of the dam was for a
homogeneous earthfill one, that was adapted at the intake
to an earth and rockfill section with the purpose of
reducing the length of the penstock conduits. The
homogeneous earthfill was maintained in the side sections
(see Figure 4).
The foundation anomaly denominated Paleo Channel,
was the reason for the intake to be moved towards the
left bank and for the change of the earth and rockfill section
of the dam to a homogeneous one, abutting the intake.
The changes in the intake area, the delay in the solution
of the technical problems that arose, uncertainty of the
foundation treatment criteria and adequacy of the dam
caused delays in the construction, mainly in the riverbed
section.

Table 1 - Geomechanical Classification of the Rock Mass of the Castanho Complex

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Main Brazilian Dams III

The solution consisted in a roller compacted concrete

(RCC) structure in the central section with the purpose
to accelerate the construction (see Figure 5). With this
modification the main dam consisted of a central RCC
section and right and left banks of homogeneous earthfill
embankments.
The earthfill dam has a volume of 4,245 x 103 m3
of compacted soil, its crest is 10 m in width, the upstream
slope is 2.5H:1.0V and the downstream slope 2H:1V,
the rockfill for drains, filters, transitions, rip-rap and
downstream slope protection, has a total volume of
687 x 103 m3.
The RCC dam is 640 m long and was moved upstream
from the original dam axis because of the Paleo Channel.
The crest of the RCC dam is 7.0 m wide.
In the RCC dam there is a 2.50 m wide x 3.50 m high
drainage gallery between stations 5+10 and 36.
Along the RCC dam foundation, a drainage curtain
downstream from the grout curtain was drilled at 4.0 m
centers, down to 30 m into the foundation rock.
In every contraction joint of the RCC dam, drains were
located downstream from the water-stop seals to convey
eventual infiltrations from the crest down to the inspection
and drainage galleries.
On August 28th 2003 the last lift of RCC was poured
reaching El. 110.90 and the final 10 cm of the dam crest
were finished with conventional vibrated concrete reaching
El. 111.00.
The construction volume of the RCC dam was
948.6 x 103 m3 of roller compacted concrete (RCC 1 and
RCC 2) and 240.7 x 103 m3 of conventional concrete.
5.2. Dikes
There are nine saddle dikes, with a typical section
shown in Figure 6, located on the right bank. They are
low structures with the purpose of closing the reservoir
in some low areas.
The crest of the dikes is at El. 111.00, with several
different widths, 14.00 m at the interface with the BR-116
highway (dike 8), 10.00 m at road accesses to the jobsite
and 6.00 m where there is only a dike with no road
access.
On the left bank, at the end of the dam, a fuse plug
spillway dike was built on a natural saddle at El. 110.00,

Figure 5 - Roller Compacted Concrete Dam - Cross Section

as an additional safety feature that will be activated in

case of floods that cannot be controlled by the dam
control structures.
This dike was built with an inclined impervious core,
resting on a sand shell, and if the reservoir overflows the
dike crest (El. 110.00), it will be eroded away, increasing
the outflow capacity of the reservoir.
5.3. Spillway
The spillway is located on the right side of the dam
and was designed for a 10,000 year flood, with a
maximum discharge capacity of 17,350 m/s, with the
reservoir at El. 106.00.
This overflow structure has a Creager profile (see

Figure 4 - Homogeneous Earthfill Dam - Cross Section

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Main Brazilian Dams III

Figure 6 - Typical Cross Section of the Saddle Dikes

Figure 7 and Photo 3) with a ski jump at the end,

12 sluiceways and 12 tainter gates. The spillway length
is 153.0 m long and the sill is at El. 95.00.
The design mixtures of the conventional and cooled
concrete have strengths of: 30, 20 and 15 MPa.
Lean concrete for filling out depressions at the base
of the structure, have strengths of 8 and 10 MPa.
The steel reinforcement was of CA-50 type and the
total amount used for the Castanho works was 3,800 t.
Rock excavations for the spillway totaled
1.875 x 103 m, which was used for concrete and rockfill

at the jobsite. The total amount of concrete used in the

spillway was 116. 2 x 103 m.
5.4. Intake, Gallery and Valve House
The intake, gallery and valve house are structures
that control the flow through the dam and were built in
accordance with the final design, with the exception of
the axis that was displaced due to the Paleo Channel
and a lengthening of the gallery because of the change
of the dam section from rockfill to homogeneous earthfill.
The design of the hydraulic circuit which comprises

Figure 7 - Spillway - Cross Section

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Main Brazilian Dams III

Photo 3 - Castanho Spillway

the intake tower, penstocks, valve house (see Photo 4)

has a maximum flow capacity of 100 m/s and a minimum
of 10 m/s.
The intake structure, located on the right bank,
consists of a vertical tower of reinforced concrete, with a
height of 64.50 m. It includes two parallel conduits that
are embedded under the dam, have a rated flow capacity
of 100 m/s and a sill at El. 57.00.
The original axis of the intake structure was shifted
from stake 122 to 124+ 8,00, because of the change of
the dam type from rockfill to RCC, and the intake gallery
was embedded in the rollcrete body of the dam.
The gallery is composed by two structural concrete
cells which shelter two 3.70 m diameter steel penstocks.
These conduits are 175,00 m long and are supported by
concrete anchor blocks.
The valve house is located downstream from the right
bank dam and will be embodied in the future powerhouse,
it shelters four 1.50 m diameter dispersion valves. The
house structure consists partly of overhead longitudinal
and transverse frames and of an embedded structure,
where the valves are fixed. The concrete volume of this
structure is 70.008 m and the reinforcing CA-50 steel
amounts to 3.074 t.

6. CONSTRUCTION
The decision to build the dam was consolidated when
the government issued the tender documents, through
80

Photo 4 - Water Intake

DNOCS, for the construction of Castanho dam. Bids

were opened in December 1989, and Construtora Andrade
Gutierrez S.A. won the contract.
At the end of 1995 the construction started with work
being done to install the jobsite, build the access road,
land clearing and foundation excavation of the dikes, dam
and spillway.
Supervision, technical assistance and inspection of
the dam construction was the responsibility of the
consortium AGUASOLOS/HIDROTERRA.
In mid 1996 with the discovery of the Paleo Channel
(see Photo 5), complementary geotechnical studies were

Main Brazilian Dams III

required, with core and percussion drilling, Dutch cone

(Federal University of Cear) and seismic refraction
(Institute of Technological Research of So Paulo - IPT).
In parallel with the geotechnical studies, and with the
delays in the construction schedule due to the occurrence
of the paleo channel depression and the need to finish
the dam construction, the Secretariat of Hydraulic
Resources of the State of Cear - SRH hired the
Montgomery - Watson - Engesoft Consortium to design
the central section of the dam in RCC.
In September 1999 work started on excavations,
dewatering of the foundations and building the cofferdams
to be able to treat the foundations of the RCC dam.
Photo 6 shows work being carried out in the central
section and at the interface between the earthfill dam
and the RCC dam abutment.
In January of 2003 the most important construction
works being carried out were stopped because of a lack
of financial resources.
The work was retaken after June 2003 when the
Ministry of National Integration and the Government of
the State of Cear granted the funds needed for the
conclusion of the works, which were accepted as
substantially finished on October 31 of 2003.

Photo 5 - Excavation of the Paleo Channel in the Riverbed

Photo 6 - Construction of the Interface between Earthfill Dam

and RCC Dam

7. ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND

ECONOMICAL ASPECTS
The impact of the development in an area of
68,000 ha affected 1,981 rural proprietors, 696 urban
buildings in the city of Jaguaribara and the district of
Poo Comprido that were both totally submerged by the
reservoir, and part of the city of Jaguaretama (up to
El. 106.00). The registered owners were paid a
compensation and in the process of resettlement the
urban center of the town of Jaguaribara and the district of
Poo Comprido were reconstructed. The urban
resettlement covered a total of 1,044 families.
In the rural area the resettlement included implanting
projects, as irrigation (Curupati, Alagamar and
Mandacaru), fish farming (Curupati Peixe) and
settlements in a rainsed area. The resettled inhabitants
in these areas numbered in all, 833 families, and were
selected in accordance with criteria of capacity and
decision making in diversified projects that were
economically and environmentally sustainable.
Environmental protection rules prescribed in the
Environmental Impact Report for Castanho were: urban
resettlements (Jaguaribara); supervision of seismicity;
establishment of fishing and fish farm projects;
resettlement of rural populations; zoning areas for
deforestation around the reservoir; removal/relocation of
existing infrastructure; establishment of sewerage
treatment systems in the cities of Jaguaribe and
Jaguaretama; fauna management; studies to preserve
flora and fauna from extinction; monitoring water, from
the limnological - sanitary pont of view, monitoring of water
table; monitoring reservoir levels and sedimentation;
establishment of two climatologic stations near the
reservoir; environmental station project; monitoring of the
reservoir protection area; recovery of the jobsite area,
waste disposal and borrow areas; reactivation program
of the economy, sanitation and public health and
protection of the city of Jaguaretama.

8. STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOR OF THE

DAM
The instruments installed in Castanho dam were
based on the design of an earthfill dam with instruments
installed only in the central riverbed section. With the
change of the middle section to an RCC one, some
adaptations were made on the original concept.
To observe the maximum temperature rise in the RCC
dam, both in the middle of the mass and near the outer
surface, a section with four lines of thermometers were
distributed along the height of the dam. The electric cables
were passed through conduits that ran up the downstream
slope to access gallery n 2 where there is a readout
terminal. Temperatures were taken during the
construction phase of the RCC dam.
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Main Brazilian Dams III

To check uplift pressures at the concrete - rock

interface of the foundation, sixteen open pipe piezometers
were installed in six sections along the drainage gallery.
In one transverse section at gallery n 2 there are four
piezometers.
A total of sixteen triorthogonal joint meters were
installed between blocks along the drainage gallery, and
three in the spillway blocks that have larger differences
in the foundation levels, with the purpose of measuring
displacements along the three axes, and fixed to the
structures with anchor bars on both sides of the joints.
A geodesic survey system with twelve targets located
on the central part of the crest at 50 m centers is intended
to monitor the vertical settlements that may occur along
the concrete dam. For reference, two benchmarks were
installed on both banks, totaling 14 benchmarks.
Staff gages were installed at the DNOCS boat
anchorage for obtaining data on the reservoir level.
The daily difference in measurements furnish the volume
and daily inflow to the reservoir.

9. TECHNICAL FEATURES
General
Location
Jaguaribe River
Construction start
1995
Construction finish
2003
Owner
DNOCS
Design
Consortium Hidroservice/A.Noronha
Contractor/Manufacturers/Erector
Construtora
Andrade Gutierrez S.A./ALSTOM
Basic data
Basin rea
Annual precipitation
Annual evaporation (potential)

44.850 km
745 mm
1.990 mm

Reservoir
Area (at El. 100)
325 km
Storage volume (at El.106)
6.761.000.000 m3
Storage volume (at El.100)
4.461.000.000 m3
Active Storage (from El. 71 to 100 ) 4.211.000.000 m3
Dead volume (from El. 51 to 71)
250.000.000 m3
Flood detention storage (from El.100,00 to 106,00)
2.300.000.000 m3
Maximum length
48 km
Maximum width
23 km
Average width
8,75 km
Maximum normal W.L. (flood detention)
106,00
Maximum normal W.L. (flow regulation)
100,00
Maximum flood W.L.
108,80
Minimum normal W.L. (flow regulation)
71,00
Flows

82

Mean Flow
Maximum recorded
Minimum recorded (monthly average)
Maximum Inflows
Maximum Probable Flood (MPF)
10,000 Year Flood
Diversion Inflow (100 year recurrence)
Corresponding outflow
10,000 Year Flood routing at El.106
Maximum inflow
Maximum outflow
Maximum flood elevation

73 m3/s
23.200 m/s
0,2 m3/s
23.200 m3/s
17.350 m/s
6.484 m3/s
2.480 m3/s
17.350 m3/s
14.820 m3/s
108,80

Main Dam
Type
Homogeneous earth/RCC
Crest length
3,410 m Earth/640 m RCC
Maximum height over foundations
72 m (RCC)
Crest elevation
111
Width at crest
10,00 m earth/7,00m RCC
Auxiliary Dams - Dikes
Type
Quantity
Maximum height
Length
Crest elevation

Homogeneous earth
9
18 m
3.980 m
111,00

Spillway
Type
Surface
Location
Right bank
Width
153 m
Capacity
Maximum discharge (10,000 year flood)
14.820 m3/s
Nappe height
11 m
Sill elevation
95,00
Gates
Type
Tainter Gates
Quantity
12
Size: Width
10 m
Size:Height
11.5 m
Manufacturer
ALSTOM
Raising and lowering speed
0.5 m/min
Intake
Location
Type
Maximum height
Firm design flow
Sill elevation
Rated Capacity

Right bank
Tower
64.50 m
22.00 m3/s
57.00 m
100 m3/s

Main Brazilian Dams III

Penstocks
Location

Under the dam as conduits

embedded in 6.5 m square concrete cells
Length (3.70m diameter)
175 m
Length of section (2.50 m diameter)
3.00 m
Material
ASTM A 516 grade 60 steel
Valve House
Type
Location
Energy Dissipation
Valve diameter

concrete structure
right bank
4 dispersion valves
1,50 m

Hydroelectric Powerplant (future installation)

Location
right bank
Turbine type
Kaplan
Total power capacity
22,5 Mw
Number of units
2
Design head
38,50 m
Maximum head
50,00 m
Minimum head
25,00 m
Nominal flow
70,00 m3/s

Construction Material Quantities

Common excavation
Rock Excavation
Main Dam
Soil
Rockfill
Cofferdams
Concrete RCC
Concrete (Conventional)
Reinforcement Steel

2,771,608 m3
1,874,960 m3
4,244,955 m3
687,160 m3
105,600 m3
426,870 m3
948,596 m
5,467 t

10. BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] ARAJO, M.Z.T.; PONTE, A.T.M.M.S.;
MALVEIRA, V.T.C.; AZEVEDO, R.V. Barragens do
Nordeste do Brasil (Dams of the Northeast of Brazil)
3 ed. Fortaleza: DNOCS, 2003. 01 CD ROM.
[2] DNOCS. Estudos de impacto ambiental do projeto
da barragem Castanho (Environmental Impact of
Castanho Development). Fortaleza: DNOCS, 1990.
[3] DNOCS. Relatrio tcnico final as built.(Technical
Report "As Built") Fortaleza: DNOCS, 2004.263 p.
[4] LIMA, F.P.F. Castanho: Do Sonho Realidade
(Castanho: A Dream Come True) Fortaleza: Expresso
Grfica .2007.273 p.

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