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On 3 November 1923 the Madrid Gazette published that news the Sociedad Hidroeléctrica del Guadiaro (the electric company Sevillana) was granted a concession to use a flow of 951 litres per second of the river Gaudares, which would be regulated by a reservoir located in the municipality of Montejaque with a capacity of 33 million cubic metres (33 hm3), of which only 30 would be usable. That company evolved into what is now Endesa. Now, almost a hundred years later, this concession has been wound up. Such is the outcome from something that has produced nothing but headaches and certainly not a spark of electricity, not even to light a light bulb.
A century has passed and Los Caballeros reservoir dam wall is still standing, perfectly sturdy, but it has not been able to produce energy because it has never been able to hold water as a dam, and the reservoir behind it, should. The soil is calcareous and filters the water as it drains away. Only small reservoirs accumulate in winter. In spring and summer the farmers in the area continue to work the land where there should be deep water. The soil there has the best characteristics for cultivating fruit.
According to the original plan, the construction of the reservoir would flood roads, the Roman bridge, farms in the Rábita Alta and Rábita Baja areas, would deprive livestock of water, electric poles would be planted on roads and neighbouring areas and it would damage the municipal coffers. Warnings were sounded of damage to vineyards and crops. There were even suggestions that it was harmful to health due to "malarial emanations". The locals mounted demonstrations against the dam for these and other reasons.
The bulkhead of the dam has become a tourist attraction. It is a very popular area. There are even 'via ferrata' climbing routes for the adventurous. Farming continues on the banks of the partially flooded area. So, this land will soon be handed over to the local council of this mountain village in the Serranía de Ronda. This is the intention expressed by Endesa, as stated in the dossier to write off the concession, which is presently at the stage of objections and counter-claims with the regional agriculture ministry.
The concession, which dates back to 1923, was originally for a period of 75 years. More or less within that period the company changed from Sevillana to Endesa. The current holder of the concession is Endesa Generación, which since 2013 has been showing its interest in abandoning something it never started. Naturally, it is also the owner of the reservoir land.
At one point even the industry Ombudsman intervened to get the company to fix the connection between the two banks of the dam that were cut off with flooding. The protests came from the Asociación de Vecinos Caminos y Campos de Montejaque (a local lobby and protest group). The water authority also urged the company to take measures related to dam safety regulations and to draw up a decommissioning project.
In the last decade there have been three-way talks between the Montejaque council, the Junta and Endesa. Logically Endesa does not wish to continue maintaining the costs of having a dam that does not dam. "Due to problems caused by the excessive permeability of the reservoir, hydroelectric production was never carried out, and the concession-holder has undertaken various actions to solve the problem, but they never gave the expected results", as stated in the decommissioning dossier.
In 2018 the road connecting the two banks was built by the local council without rhyme nor reason. The dam also became an Asset of Cultural Interest, classed as a Site of Industrial Interest. The key is that it remains in a state that does not cause problems either upstream or downstream.
Another historical feature of this infrastructure is that it was the first ever vault (curved wall) dam in Spain, designed and fully specified by an engineer from Basel (Switzerland) for Sevillana de Electricidad. It was also built in record time - about nine months - as it had to be 'in service' by 1925. "The time taken for the concession to expire is beyond doubt", states the document.
The report goes on: "The permeability of the reservoir's basin negates its intended function, since the dam is located a few metres above the Hundidero del Gato sinkhole, the longest cave in Andalucía. The poor development of the impermeable levels of the subsoil where the reservoir was sited means that the water infiltrates down to karstic levels, making permanent water accumulation impossible."
In terms of leisure and tourism, the via ferratas (there are three of these protected climbing routes with cables, railings and iron rungs) have already existed since the construction of the dam and were used for the maintenance and supervision of the dam. The sports and recreational facilities already in place offer a unique view of the Hundidero gorge downstream.
The most ambitious project in the history of Montejaque, the study of which began more than ten years ago, will culminate in 2025 with the creation of a tree museum in the area known as Los Cucaderos. Also the installation of bird watching hides (species such as griffon vultures, peregrine falcons, eagle owls, kestrels and Egyptian vultures nest in the area), over 20 kilometres of cycling-tourism trails and the creation of a permanent wetland on the Isla en la Puente.
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