Spanish government gives green light to Los Alcázares flood prevention plan

The rehabilitation of the Rambla de la Pescadería will alleviate the risk of flooding on the coast of the Mar Menor

The Town Hall of Los Alcázares is celebrating what the Mayor, El alcalde de Los Alcázares, Mario Pérez Cervera, has called a “historic step forward” for the municipality after the announcement by the national Ministry of the Environment that the contracts for the first phase of the plans to rehabilitate the Rambla de la Pescadería floodwater channel can be put out to tender.

The course of the Rambla runs through the town centre towards Playa Manzanares, and the theory is that if it is re-conditioned in order to channel surplus rainwater towards the Mar Menor in times of heavy storms the disastrous flooding which has affected Los Alcázares several times over the last decade can be avoided, or at least significantly alleviated. Unsurprisingly, this issue has been at the forefront of the local government’s priorities in recent years, and Sr Pérez Cervera, speaking after the Ministry notified the local authorities of the latest development, was quick to acknowledge the “years of work, insistence and persuasion” which it has taken to move forward with this “definitive solution to one of the main problems faced by Los Alcázares”.

The estimated budget for the first phase of the work is just over 14 million euros, which will allow the Rambla de la Pescadería to be routed alongside Avenida Fernando Muñoz Zambudio in an open channel 1,250 metres long. This in turn will necessitate the re-routing of road traffic and all of the existing services in the area, making it a major undertaking.

When that is done, the second phase, currently estimated to require a further investment of some 18 million euros, will involve the creation of a 30-hectare floodable public green area at the start of Avenida Fernando Muñoz Zambudio, helping not only to reduce the risk of flooding but also, again in the words of the Mayor, to “improve the safety and quality of life of the whole population”.

In addition, it is hoped that the new flood protection system will also contribute to the safeguarding of the marine environment in the Mar Menor.

A time of great optimism, then, but Mario Pérez Cervera warns that although this is a great step forward it is just one of many which are needed in order to provide a global solution to the problem. There is still a great deal of work to be done, he says, and it is important that those in the local administration should not rest on their laurels!

The images provided by the Town Hall show artist’s impressions of the completed conversion of Avenida Fernando Muñoz Zambudio.

For more local information in English, including news, what’s on and visiting advice, contact the tourist offices in Los Alcázares (main telephone number 968 575756) or go to the home page of Los Alcázares Today.