Orihuela´s Councillor for Infrastructure, Ángel Noguera, accompanied by Sergio Sánchez, manager of Hidraqua and Lola Henarejos, president of the FAOC, presented the project for the regeneration of the river Nacimiento and its surroundings along its course through Orihuela to the mouth at La Glea.
“It is proposed to carry out an environmental adaptation of the mouth of the Nacimiento river in order to recover the great environmental potential of the area” indicated the councillor, highlighting that “the main objectives set are the environmental regeneration of the currently deteriorated riverbed and the recovery or recreation of the riverside ecosystem, through the adequate zoning of the plant communities and the promotion of the recreational use of the Nacimiento River, through the improvement and consolidation of pedestrian paths. In addition, the passage of vehicles for maintenance and surveillance purposes will be ordered.
The project proposes the environmental adaptation of 109,450 m2 of the Nacimiento riverbed at its mouth on the Orihuela Costa, based on the elimination of invasive exotic species, the generation of a low-water channel that ensures its outlet to the sea, the enhancement of development of existing masses of native vegetation, reduction of the risk and propagation of forest fires, environmental regeneration of degraded land, cleaning and general elimination of existing waste, generation of an environmental pedestrian itinerary associated with the course of the Nacimiento River and its interconnection with the natural space protected area of the Sierra de Escalona and Dehesa de Campoamor, botanical itinerary associated with natural habitats, provision of furniture to value the natural and cultural resources of the river and its surroundings.
Ángel Noguera explained that “upstream, another phase will be acted upon within the same project that consists of the environmental improvement of the Nacimiento River to recover its ecological status by improving the hydrological, hydromorphological and ecological processes, making them compatible with the uses of the territory and recreational of its banks. This performance is carried out in the 15 km of the river from the foothills of the Sierra Escalona.”
These actions will be carried out to increase the hydraulic capacity, improving the safety of people and goods in the neighbouring towns and in line with the blue trails that the Orihuela City Council is promoting on the Orihuela Costa.
For the preparation of this project, meetings have been held with the CHS (Segura Hydrographic Confederation) and the Coastal Demarcation, which are the owners of a large part of the area where the action will be carried out.
The initial valuation of these two projects is €3,199,491.23 and they are going to apply for a grant from the FSP Biodiversity Foundation, to promote actions aimed at restoring river ecosystems and reducing the risk of flooding in surrounding areas. Spanish urban areas through solutions based on nature, corresponding to the year 2021 within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan – financed by the EU-NextGenerationEU.
