This intervention will have a positive effect on more than 500 hectares of agricultural land, reducing the risk of flooding and allowing the recovery of 60 hectares of river space. In Zone 1 of the LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 Project, located between the towns of Alfaro, in La Rioja and Castejón, in Navarra, a series of natural water retention measures are being carried out to adapt the stretch to the risk of flooding, thus reducing the effects.
This is the so-called demonstration phase of the LIFE project, aimed at showing the effects of various solutions that can be replicated in other rivers of the demarcation and in other basins, both in Spain and in other European countries.
The proposal consists of the sum of actions such as the reconnection of meanders, the creation of relief channels, the recovery of old river branches and the widening of the fluvial space which, together, offer an overall benefit with respect to flood risk and the environmental state of the river, measurable at section level.
The project has edited this video to explain in a very graphic way what these interventions are and their location.
But what interventions are we talking about? Those defined in the LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 Project are as follows:
- Soto de Alfaro (or Soto de Tamarigal): action planned for 2024 for the recovery of river branches.
- Morphological adaptation of the meander of La Roza, in Alfaro, La Rioja, executed in the absence of environmental restoration and planting, which includes the recovery of 22 hectares of river space and has involved a defense setback, the creation of a relief channel and a wetland. In addition, the hydraulic capacity of the railroad bridge has been improved in this section.
- Morphological adaptation of the El Señorío meander, in Castejón, Navarra, also scheduled for 2024, where 23 hectares of river space will be recovered through the recessing of defenses and the creation of a relief channel.
In addition to these, there are the interventions already implemented or about to be completed within the framework of the Ebro Resilience Strategy.
- Adaptation of the El Ortigoso site, in Milagro, Navarra, where a two-phase action is being carried out (the first phase is already completed and the second phase is being drafted) for the recovery of the meanders as a river space (by recessing defenses and reconnecting old river branches). A total of 27 hectares of river space will be recovered.
- Adaptation of the site of La Nava, in Alfaro, La Rioja, a fully executed action where 40 hectares of river space have been recovered and a wetland area has been created.
- Adaptation of the meander of El Estajao, in Alfaro, La Rioja, where 21 hectares of river space have been recovered and where only the last phase of planting remains to be completed.
These main actions are related to other previous interventions carried out in some of the sites (recovery of arms, creation of a relief channel) by the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation after the flood episodes of 2015 and 2018.