Opponents to the construction of the Manabao-Bejucal-Tavera dam said that Silvio Carrasco, director of the government National Hydraulic Resources Institute offends the intelligence of the President of Republic when he said that the project does not contemplate the change of the course of the Yaque del Norte, Guanajuma, Arroyo and Los Dajaos rivers. Carrasco said that the dam would source its waters from the excess resulting from rains in the area. A committee head by Omar Rodriguez that seeks to stop the project said that the mentioned water surplus only occurred during the David and Federico hurricanes of 1979 and Georges in 1998. The Manabao dam was discarded during a past Balaguer government because studies showed that it would adversely affect the ecology of the area. The committee says that no new studies have been able to show the contrary.
