Date Published: 06/11/2020
ARCHIVED - Step forward for infrastructure project to reduce flooding in Los Alcázares
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Widening of the D-7 drainage channel is an important first step in resolving the issues caused by torrential rains
The council of Los Alcázares, which for years has been pressuring the CHS and regional Government to implement practical measures which will help to reduce the possibility of flooding in the town following episodes of particularly heavy rain, has welcomed the announcement that the 1.06 million project to amplify the D-7 drainage canal run by the CHS water infrastructures is finally entering the adjudication phase.
The D7 drainage channel is a key infrastructure in preventing the flooding of the town on the shore of the Mar Menor, but on numerous occasions during heavy storms over the last few years it has been found wanting as the streets have been left under water and properties and infrastructures severely damaged.
The channel is too small to cope with the volume of water which can flow down from areas such as Torre Pacheco in a Gota Fría, and the water literally bottlenecks at the entry to the channel flooding the main carriageway alongside the Mar Menor.
The “Stop Inundaciones” and “Salir a flote” platform groups have repeatedly called for it to be amplified since the flooding of 2016, while other important projects lobbied for by the local Mayor, Mario Cervera, include the recovery of the Rambla de La Maraña floodwater channel at a cost of 7.5 million euros and others which bring the total budget up to 11 million euros.
The CHS has carried out significant major works in both the Murcia Region and neighbouring Alicante Province following the last major set of floods a year ago and is constantly being pressured to spend yet more.
This week the CHS and council have signed the documentation which will move forward the project to amplify the D7 channel, and put it out for licensing and then adjudication during November.
It’s an important first step in the process to address the key infrastructure issues which will improve the flow of water during heavy rains, but is just a small part of the total infrastructure which the council would like to see improved.
The overall scheme includes plans to intercept floodwater making its way towards the Mar Menor under the AP7 motorway and divert it into the Rambla de la Pescadería, and this is budgeted to cost 7.5 million euros. The major stumbling block in this plan is the cost and the CHS and town hall are working together to try and find the financing. The Town Hall is able to provide 2 million from its own budgets according to the Mayor, and discussions with the CHS are under way to try and find mechanisms for the remainder.