Cerrón Grande Dam
The Cerrón Grande Hydroelectric Dam spans the Lempa River north of San Salvador in the municipalities of Potonico, and Jutiapa in El Salvador.
The concrete gravity dam has a height of and a length of. The dam's reservoir has a surface area of and a capacity of.
The hydroelectric power plant was fitted with 2 x 67.5 MWe Francis turbines with a total capacity of 135 Mwe. Major maintenance work carried out between 2003 and 2007 included replacing the turbines with 2 x 85 MWe units with a total capacity of 170 MWe, which generate 488 GWh per year.
Cerrón Grande Reservoir
The Cerrón Grande Reservoir, locally known as Lake Suchitlán, is the largest body of fresh water in El Salvador. In 2005, the reservoir and approximately of adjacent area was listed as a "Wetland of International Importance" under the Ramsar Convention. The area provides a habitat for large numbers of waterbird, duck and fish species.
History
Because of the construction of the Cerrón Grande Hydroelectric Dam, over 13,000 people were displaced with many cantons or townships, caserios or hamlets, churches, cemeteries, and over 20 significant archaeological sites being lost in the process including Canton El Tablón and Canton San Juan in Suchitoto, Cuscatlán.