The governor Maximiliano Pullaro supervised this Wednesday the works that the Government of the Province is carrying out in the Garello Embankment, located in Colastiné Norte of the city of Santa Fe. Accompanied by the Minister of Public Works, Lisando Enrico and the Secretary of Water Resources of the province, Nicolás Mijich, Pullaro toured the works that include the reconstruction of the wet slope and the protection of the bed, with a blanket of concrete blocks attached to a geotextile blanket, designed to curb the floods of the Colastiné River.
In this context, Pullaro pointed out that this type of work "is fundamental and represents an important investment for the province, everything we are doing in the capital to carry out the defense that has been requested for so long and had not arrived". He then went on to say that "we are investing a total of more than 20 billion pesos, with the understanding that if this work is completed, we should have no more worries because we would have an extremely correct defence".
The president stressed that "this year 2024 was a complex year in which we invested nearly 500 million dollars in these months and next year we are going to invest more than 1 billion dollars in public works throughout the province. We are the only province that is putting a lot of rhythm and resources into public works and that comes from the efficient administration of state resources," he added.
For Pullaro, "the state is there to balance the accounts and invest when the economy falls, betting on productive development. In this case we are investing so that the people of Santa Fe can live better and not have to live through crises like when the river rises or when it rains a lot" and in this sense he emphasised that during these months "we are carrying out the cleaning of all the canals because it is the right time to do it: we do it more cheaply and we don't have the problems that arise when the water rises and the canals overflow".
Details and progress of the work
The Garello embankment is part of the works that the provincial government is carrying out in the Metropolitan Area of the city of Santa Fe to reinforce the defense system. Its objective is to protect the defense embankment from fluvial erosion. Once the embankment has been formed, the wet slope will be covered with a blanket of concrete blocks attached to a geotextile blanket that prevents both the current and the waves from carrying away the soil that forms the embankment. The blankets cover an approximate area of 17,500 m2 and, in addition, a 100-metre concrete casting wall and a beam to anchor the blankets will be built.
In this regard, the Minister of Public Works, Lisando Enrico, highlighted "the effort made by the Province to carry out this work" and that it is "so important for the whole area of Colastiné and the city of Santa Fe and that it is currently at 65% progress, being a work where the embankment was strengthened, double meshes are being placed with iron and cement to reach the river bed working now in low river conditions, to strengthen the defense; and when the river grows, not to have the problems we had".
It should be noted that the work included an initial stage of dredging of the opposite bank of the river, which on the one hand served as a deposit to form the body of the embankment and on the other hand, reduces the average runoff velocities, given that the current situation of the river contributes greatly to this. The work is scheduled to be completed in May.
