Impacto da agricultura irrigada na potência hidrelétrica instalada na bacia bacia do rio São Francisco

Abstract

The São Francisco River is one of the most important rivers in Brazil, having great relevance in the southeast and northeast regions, due to its geographical location and the development of various economic activities. The main economic activity in the region is irrigated agriculture. Another economic activity that also needs water in the basin is hydroelectric plants. The plants installed in the São Francisco river gutter require large volumes of water for power generation, while irrigation generates a considerable amount of the São Francisco river flow to meet crop water demands. Thus one activity influences the other. Therefore,the objective of this study was to estimate the hydroelectric power that is no longer produced due to the water demand needed to meet the water needs of banana, mango, grape, sugarcane, corn and bean crops in the São Francisco river basin. The monthly flow demanded by the crops was estimated and then the installed power ceases to be generated by such flow. The total installed power in the hydroelectric plants under study is 9,971,500 kW, and the results show that in September is where there is the largest reduction in irrigation potential (0.37%), which corresponds to 36472,56 kW, followed by July (0.24%), equivalent to 25927.20 kW. The results show that in the dry season months the impacts of irrigated agriculture are greater due to the greater need for irrigation in this period.