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In the late 1980's, I visited Itaipu Dam on the Parana River, along the border between Brazil and Paraguay,
accompanied by my friend Newton Carvalho, hydrologist of ELETROBRAS. During the visit,
I noticed intently that the three emergency spillways
were gated. Curious about this,
I asked my host what were they planning to do in the event of a flood.
I added: "What if they were caught by surprise, and the flood came when the gates were closed?"
He looked at me, smiled, and pronounced:
"This is the Parana. When we have a flood, it has a way of announcing
itself several weeks in advance. It would be unthinkable to have
so many people at the damsite caught by surprise!"
I then learned that hydrology has many facets, and that local experience is paramount.
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