Council seeks solution for Arenal flooding
Hydrology experts from Barcelona and Valencia have been briefed on the problems experienced by the tourist zone.
Xàbia Council, in coordination with the municipal water company AMJASA, is looking for possible solutions to the problem of flooding in the Arenal zone, and have met with Manuel Gómez Valentín, a professor at the Polytechnic University of Barcelona and a renowned engineer specializing in hydrological engineering, to explain the problem experienced in this area, the means of rain drainage that are currently operational, and the different alternatives being studied at the municipal level.
The engineer, also an expert in urban hydrology, the study of the movement, distribution, and management of water in the built-up areas, was able to learn about the determining factors of the problem in Xàbia, and has promised to study the case and thus advise the municipality on the best way forward to resolve the issue.
Several circumstances come together to cause the flooding in the Arenal when there is heavy rain: it is at a low elevation; it collects rain water that runs off from the ravines in the south of the municipality; it has less and less permeable land (surfaces which allows water to percolate into the soil and recharge the water table); and the high density of construction has made it difficult to install new pumping systems. In addition, its nature as a popular tourist zone makes it necessary to put aside solution that would have a visual impact on the beach zone.
The meeting was also attended by mayor José Chulvi, councillor Isabel Bolufer (Urbanism) and Enrique Cabrera Marcet, professor at the Polytechnic University of Valencian who is also a specialist in hydraulic engineering.
Friday 20th November 2020, 6.00pm – MGS
