River repairs in Rojales
REPAIRS have been carried out to various elements of the River Segura channel in Rojales which were damaged during the September floods.
They have been undertaken by the government's Segura river and water authority (CHS) as part of a package of repairs along the length of the river in the Vega Baja.
CHS head of services José Cascales Olmeda told Costa Blanca News this included laying a concrete surface on ramps to access the channel so that maintenance machinery can reach the end of it, which was completed in March.
By early May they had repaired the containing wall with prefabricated concrete blocks and installed flap valves so that run-off water can drain into the river. A 900-metre section of the bottom end of the wall on the left bank was treated to protect the steel in the existing reinforced concrete against corrosion, as well as adding more reinforced concrete - which they finished last week.
Finally, the chain barrier to catch floating rubbish downriver of the town centre was repaired.
The long-standing problem of rubbish accumulating at the river mouth in Guardamar was also addressed by repairing or replacing more of these chain barriers and the ramps to access them. This was carried out at two locations in Orihuela, the Alfeitamí weir in Almoradí and Benijófar.
Furthermore, the CHS is clearing vegetation from parts of the riverbanks that are not environmentally protected to increase the capacity of the channel. The waste will be shredded and mixed with topsoil on land alongside some of the old meanders of the river, in order to enrich its organic content for growing crops or other uses, added Sr Cascales.