Diving submerged villages

[zamburinha]

Hi all! I wonder what preparation one would need to dive in a submerged village at recreational depths. Would you treat it like a wreck, or are there special considerations? Are there commonly accessed underwater villages out there? Are they generally worth the visit?

I ask this because Spain (where I am from) has quite a few villages that were submerged in the last 50 years for hydroelectric projects and it seems like it could be really interesting to visit them.

 

[Cave Diver]

I think it would be wise to treat it as you would a wreck. Entanglement possibilities, falling debris, collapsing structures, silt, disorientation, inhibited access to the surface. These are all possible dangers faced when diving man made structures.

 

[letterboy]

I would treat it as a wreck, also.

You may want to try and talk with others in the area who have done a dive or two on the sites to find out what you are looking at. Try and find historical records for what kind of condition the town was in when it was submerged.

All the submerged "villiages" around here are mainly deterioratied . . .

Good luck if you dive them, be smart and have an exit strategy at all times.

 

[SNorman]

I would treat it as a wreck, also.

You may want to try and talk with others in the area who have done a dive or two on the sites to find out what you are looking at. Try and find historical records for what kind of condition the town was in when it was submerged.

All the submerged "villiages" around here are mainly deterioratied . . .

Good luck if you dive them, be smart and have an exit strategy at all times.

What is DNY?

 

[zamburinha]

The village I am thinking of is Riano, a village in northwestern Spain that was submerged in the 80's to create a reservoir and dam. The population was relocated to a nearby site. I visited as a kid before the dam was closed. I haven't had much luck in finding information about diving in the area yet, but will keep looking.

In the mean time I am trying to find out the specific risks of these types of dives. I hope to be cave trained in the near future and I imagine some of the techniques are of use in this scenario, but I really have no idea. I have never read a report or description of diving a submerged village.

I would treat it as a wreck, also.

You may want to try and talk with others in the area who have done a dive or two on the sites to find out what you are looking at. Try and find historical records for what kind of condition the town was in when it was submerged.

All the submerged "villiages" around here are mainly deterioratied . . .

Good luck if you dive them, be smart and have an exit strategy at all times.

 

[Cave Diver]

What is DNY?

Dive New York: Dive NY - ScubaBoard

It's a regional forum for those in and around NY. Anyone can read, but you have to get permission to post from one of the group leaders.

 

[Splash-X]

Good find. A Wiki search turned up this Riaño, Spain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and the city looks beautiful (the pre-submerged version).

Looking at the mountains in the background I would estimate that this city is now very deep. The damn itself is 100 meters in height. Depending on where the city lies in the reservoir it could be too deep to reach.

Dam safety: proceedings of the ... - Google Books


Finding information as to the location of the city in the reservoir has proved to be very difficult. Most survey information I found through searches indicates that the depth is aprox 100 meters in depth.

 

[idocsteve]

Diving a submerged village has got to be the coolest thing in scuba diving. Imagine swimming through houses and buildings, up and down stairs, in and out of windows, that sort of thing.

 

[Cave Diver]

In the mean time I am trying to find out the specific risks of these types of dives. I hope to be cave trained in the near future and I imagine some of the techniques are of use in this scenario, but I really have no idea. I have never read a report or description of diving a submerged village.

There have been some reports made through the years of diving underwater buildings, etc. but none come to mind at the moment. I'll try to do a search later.

Cave training provides some good skills, but I really think that a good wreck penetration course may be more informative in regards to hazards. Caves generally don't pose the entanglement or collapse hazards you may encounter in a man made structure.

 

[fairybasslet]

Diving a submerged village has got to be the coolest thing in scuba diving. Imagine swimming through houses and buildings, up and down stairs, in and out of windows, that sort of thing.

I agree. It sounds like it would be pretty cool. I imagine things would be pretty much intact in fresh water.