Hidroituango: EPM says Cauca river to start rising within days

The CEO of Colombia's Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) said the water level of the Cauca river downstream from its Hidroituango dam project will begin rising in the coming days as the company downplayed fears of an environmental catastrophe.

Authorities say parts of the river have receded by more than 2m since EPM closed a second floodgate on February 5 to relieve pressure on the troubled project's turbine rooms and prevent the threat of mass flooding.

Images posted on social media showed scores of dead fish stranded on rocks that usually form the river bed. Local media reported that around 6,000 fish had died while more than 20,000 residents were left without running water since EPM carried out the operation.

The situation has also taken a toll on the local fishing industry, which says it has not received compensation.

In an interview with RCN Radio on Friday, EPM chief executive Jorge Londoño said that Hidroituango's spillway level was around half a meter below the point at which water can be discharged into the river.

"The spillway is going to rise over time and by late Sunday or in the first hours of Monday, [it] will be delivering 500m3 per second [to the river]," he said.

In a statement, EPM said it had provided almost 800m3 of water to affected communities via 21 tanker trucks.