The LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 Project maintains its commitment to the participation of the riparian population in flood risk management. Yesterday, Wednesday, May 3, was held at the Interpretation Center of the Sotos de Alfaro, the open forum “Future uses of land in the meander of La Roza”.
A new line of participation with a public session in which interested individuals presented their proposals on the connection of paths in the meander lands for routes on foot, bicycle and/or horseback and in which ideas for a plot of land freed up after the recessing of the defensive mote of La Roza were also analyzed.
With this action, the LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 project has approached new people with whom to discuss actions for adaptation to flood risk in the middle stretch of the Ebro and the restoration of the intervention areas.
The La Roza meander is part of the Sotos de Alfaro Nature Reserve, so the proposed uses must be in accordance with the regulations and the planning of the area.
Meander of La Roza
The morphological adaptation and environmental restoration of the Ebro River in the meander of “La Roza”, in Alfaro, La Rioja, is the first work being carried out within the framework of LIFE Ebro Resilience P1, a flood risk management and environmental restoration project, with the contribution of the European Union’s LIFE financial instrument.
The Roza intervention involves an investment of 2,258,105 euros and has a completion period of 24 months.
The construction of the new dike or defense has been completed, which has meant the recovery of 22 hectares of flood plain and space for the river, since it has been built further away from the riverbed, respecting the layout of the meander itself and set back from the pre-existing mote, which was built in the 1980s and which constricted the riverbed, increasing the risk of flooding.
In addition, the drainage capacity of the eyes of the railroad bridge has been improved and the water circulation branches in the undergrowth behind the bridge have been reopened. The combination of both actions will improve the efficiency of water flow in flood situations, reducing the damage caused by floods.
Work is currently underway to create a relief channel, an additional arm for the river that will operate at high water and allow the river width to be increased when necessary).
The La Roza project is part of the first section of intervention of the LIFE project, Zone 1, called “Combined Section of Actions” between Alfaro, in La Rioja and Castejón, in Navarra, which consists of a succession of natural water retention measures. Specifically, reconnection of meanders, relief channels, the curage technique and the recovery of river space as flood plains.
This area is for the LIFE Program of the European Union the demonstration part of the project, with works for the recovery of the river space through the elimination and relocation of dykes, and the environmental restoration of three meanders.
These interventions are directed by the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation (Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge) and executed by the public company TRAGSA, while the subsequent restoration of habitats in the Sotos de Alfaro Nature Reserve, in the recovered river area, will be carried out by the Government of La Rioja. This intervention will be enjoyed by the local population and all users of the GR-99 Nature Trail.
