Hydrography

Villalcampo dam and reservoir

The Villalcampo dam, also known as the Villalcampo waterfall, is situated in the middle course of the Duero river, just after the mouth of the Esla river.

The waters, which the River Esla collects from the Cantabrian Mountains of León as it passes through León and Zamora, ultimately discharge into the Villalcampo reservoir. This reservoir, covering an area of 445 ha, has a capacity of 66hm³ and serves a variety of purposes.

This civil engineering project has been continuously operational since 1949, including the three-year period between 1974 and 1977, during which the plant underwent a refurbishment to enhance its power output.

The Salto de Villalcampo, with a height of 50 metres, can produce sufficient electricity to supply 23,000 homes per annum. The renewable and clean energy in question is generated by two hydroelectric power plants, situated near one another and designated as the Villalcampo I and Villalcampo II power plants. The installed capacity of each of these power plants is 96 and 110 MW, respectively.

The Villalcampo dam is a gravity dam, which means that it is designed to retain water masses thanks to the materials used in its construction, which in this case is concrete. With 4 floodgates set across the 300 m of its crest, the Villalcampo waterfall can release the excess pressure that occurs because of the frequent floods that occur in such a fast-flowing river as the Duero.

During the initial phase of the expansion of waterworks in Spain at the beginning of the 20^th century, a considerable number of workers were required to be willing to work in remote locations where these large-scale infrastructure projects were typically constructed. To achieve this objective, the Sociedad Hispanoportuguesa de Transportes Eléctricos, which was renamed Saltos del Duero in 1928 and would subsequently give rise to the modern Iberdrola, established a series of villages in the vicinity of the hydroelectric stations with the intention of attracting the rural population.

The village of Salto de Villalcampo was established in the municipality of Villalcampo, at the confluence of the river and the dam. The site was equipped with all the comforts and modern conveniences of the time, as well as a school, hospital and a church, which collectively provided the basic services expected of any community.

It is unfortunate that many villages, such as Villalcampo, were gradually abandoned following the construction of dams and hydroelectric power stations. The village of Villalcampo is currently a desolate and abandoned locale, where even the doors and windows have been boarded up to prevent further vandalism.