Although the weather phenomenon has been recorded as affecting the area for many years, it wasn´t until the worsening situation of climate change that resulted in the flooding caused by the DANA in 2019 that urgent action was called for and funded, managed in part by the regional government of Valencia.
That management of the situation is still maintained at a regional level, albeit with a different government team and with different ideologies, and this week the Plenary of the Council approved the decree-law amending the original decree-law approving the regulatory bases and direct grant of aid for actions of local competence in the municipalities of the region of Baix Segura, the Vega Baja, and Crevillente to facilitate investment in urban drainage systems and sustainable cleaning actions for flood prevention.
However, although an amendment might, on the face of it, seem like a positive move, the objective of this decree-law, they say, is to extend the deadline for the execution of the actions, in order to achieve the objective that all these municipalities can complete the works for the protection of their territories and mainly the safety of the populations.
In other words, despite the sword of Damocles that effects the people of these municipalities, any sense of urgency to take preparatory action before the next downpours, has been removed.
With this modification, the works can be carried out until November 30, 2026. This deadline can be extended for reasons provided for in the rule, such as climatic reasons or any other cause of force majeure, among others.
According to the brief, these are projects considered high priority, since sustainable urban actions, and especially urban drainage systems, are rainwater management techniques and urban planning that, in addition to avoiding overflows or floods in episodes of heavy rain, will contribute to the environmental or landscape improvement of these municipalities.
Thus, in obvious contradiction, preventative actions considered “high priority” are not such a priority that they should be completed with any urgency, it would seem.
