ARCHIVED - Proposal to re-direct Camposol rambla accepted by the CHS and Mazarrón council

The Rambla de los Aznares runs beneath parts of the residential development of Camposol

The Confederación Hidrográfica del Segura (CHS, the body which administers water courses and supplies in the Region of Murcia and parts of Alicante, Albacete, Jaén, Granada and Almería) has officially notified the Town Hall of Mazarrón registry that the latest proposal to re-channel the Rambla de los Aznares in the residential development of Camposol has been accepted according to a statement made by Mazarrón town hall.

The presence of this natural floodwater channel, it will be remembered, is a contributing factor in the subsidence issues affecting the areas infilled and the catastrophic flooding following heavy rain in 2014 which have both affected homes and infrastructures in Camposol over the last decade, and after years of campaigning by residents and the recommendations of an official parliamentary commission, the latest amended proposal (the third) was presented to the CHS in February after provisional agreement was reached verbally between the bodies concerned.

Mayoress Alicia Jiménez describes the latest news as “very positive”, explaining that of all the options considered in tackling the problems in Camposol this one is the most technically viable and the most economical. Another positive aspect is that none of the homes built on the land above and around the ramble will have to be pulled down.

The council will now be able to proceed with the modification of the Plan General de Ordenación Urbana to take account of the changes this will imply to the topography of the municipality.

The official CHS response to the proposal, as quoted by the Town Hall, describes the study made as “correct”, adding that further details will need to be incorporated when detailed works plans are drawn up. Among the aspects to be taken into account will be the natural topography of the land, the exact route of the re-routed rambla, flow rates in the channel and maintenance considerations. 

The re-routing of the rambla has been a contentious issue for a considerable period of time, as the largest hurdles in resolving the long-term problems caused by the promotor Justo y Manoli (Grupo Masa) have been twofold; who is responsible for the problems occurring in the first place and then who will pay for them to be corrected now that the developer has gone bankrupt.

In November 2018 the parliamentary commission set up to investigate the many irregularities in the construction of Camposol recommended that the rambla be diverted to avoid flooding incidents such as the torrential storm which caused significant damage in 2014.

In February 2018 the CHS and Mazarrón council reached a provisional agreeement to divert the rambla, the proposed route eliminating the need to demolish dwellings, but points still remained to be resolved.

On 14th August the local town council of Mazarrón put out a press statement in which they said that the CHS had accepted "their" plan and amendments and that the next phase would be to draw up a detailed plan of action for the project.

Residents are still awaiting further information about the plans to deal with the other issues and formation of a working group to examine the options available to complete the outstanding infrastructure and resolve the future status of the development.

The statement from the town hall comes on the same day as the state meteorological agency, Aemet, has issued the first warning of the late summer for heavy rains, and the thoughts of residents turn once again to the question of the potential problems which could re-occur should the problems with the rambla remain unresolved.

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