Restoring the river mouth
THE MOUTH of the River Segura at Guardamar has been a hive of activity recently, as more floating rubbish has been cleared from the barrier and dredging to enable the port to be reopened is almost complete.
However, there is also controversy over a procedure to legalise a commercial centre that was built on protected land by the riverside at the entrance to the town. Clearing of the rubbish from the water by the Segura river and water authority (CHS) began on July 8 and concluded on Monday.
Only a month ago the CHS had removed over three tonnes of rubbish from the same spot at the end of the old course of the river. It is unprecedented for the CHS to return so soon but this illustrated just how quickly the debris mounts up, having entered the river from the traditional irrigation channels around the Vega Baja area.
Previous studies estimated that around 150 tonnes of rubbish ends up in the river each year in the Vega Baja area, 90 % of which is of urban origin and the rest from agricultural and other sources. The CHS has recently repaired the five chain barriers which catch this rubbish from Orihuela downriver but had been damaged during the September floods. It is now suggesting that town halls and farming associations pay the cleaning costs, after its initial plan to install grilles and make councils and farmers responsible for cleaning them met with little support.
Reopening the port
After three and a half years of being blocked by sediment from the river and sea, the port at the mouth of the Segura is reopening as the town hall is due to complete dredging work in a couple of weeks. The problem had reduced the depth from 33.5 metres to about 1m, making it impossible for fishing or leisure craft to pass.
Mayor José Luis Sáez said most of the boats have been able to get in and out for around six weeks, once a 2.4m emergency channel had been dug, and now they are finishing off the area. The mud excavated by a digger on a pontoon is being dried out and will be tested to see if it can be reused to regenerate local beaches, otherwise it will have to be disposed of at an authorised landfill.
Commercial centre controversy
In February the regional environment department started a procedure to modify its catalogue of protected wetlands, which includes stripping protected status from an area near the river mouth where a commercial centre was built in 2004.
At the time the construction was reported to the Guardia Civil environmental service (Seprona) by the friends of south Alicante (AHSA) conservationist association. The investigation was shelved by a Torrevieja court but now the AHSA has appealed against this attempt to legalise the building
They argue the council and regional government should never have permitted the project and call for the building to be demolished and the area to be restored to its natural state.
The commercial centre is neglected, with numerous areas that have been vandalised, the ecologists claim.