The delegate of the Government in Cantabria, Eugenia Gómez de Diego, visited Reinosa today to examine the work that the Hydrographic Confederation of the Ebro (CHE), dependent on the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, has carried out at the confluence of the Hijar and Ebro rivers.
This is an important action that has allowed the expansion of the section of the riverbed and adaptation of the bank on the left bank of the River Ebro, and that has led to an investment of 260,300 euros from the Government of Spain.
According to Gómez de Diego, the works have included the recasting of the slopes and the increase of the box through which the waters run, which has managed to increase the evacuation capacity by approximately 20%.
The delegate of the Government has valued this “so necessary” work that has been developed on a “critical point” and that responds to the “firm commitment” that the Government of Spain has had from the first moment to protect the inhabitants of Reinosa and Campoo after the serious floods that occurred in December 2019.
In this regard, Gómez de Diego has pointed out that with this action the works to which the Ministry and the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation committed themselves after the overflows that flooded Reinosa are concluded.
In total, the Government of Spain has invested more than 1.2 million euros in various actions aimed at preventing and significantly reducing the risk of flooding and minimizing possible damage in the event of the recurrence of episodes such as those of four years ago.
Thus, in addition to this last action, the delegate has recalled that the Confederation has already carried out work to recover the drainage capacity in the Hijar, Izarilla and Ebro rivers, in Reinosa and Matamorosa; the expansion of the river space of the Hijar river as it passes through the Brotherhood of Campoo de Suso, and the repair of the damages produced in the walks and paths of the Hijar River Park.
Also, upstream, at the head of the Hijar River, Gómez de Diego highlighted the installation of an alert system composed of three sensors and three rainfall gauges that constantly measure the height of the water sheet in order to detect and anticipate possible flooding of the river before its passage through Reinosa.
During the visit, Gómez de Diego was accompanied by the head of section of the CHE, José Lorenzo Polanco, whom he wanted to thank for the intense work done by this Agency, as well as by the mayor of Reinosa, José Luis López Vielba, who for his part has welcomed the works carried out and has shown his desire that the regional government undertake the second phase of intervention as soon as possible, which “is announced and in tender” and will involve an investment of close to 3 million euros.
Collaboration and working together
In December 2019, episodes of intense rain, combined with other factors, led to very serious floods in Reinosa and other points of Campoo, accumulating the entrance of the Hijar River in Matamorosa more than 300 cubic meters of flow per second.
That event highlighted the urgency of implementing prevention and protection measures that would minimize the risks to which the inhabitants of this sensitive area are exposed.
During her visit to the affected area, the delegate highlighted the importance, from the outset, of the collaboration and joint work of all the institutions: Government of Spain, Government of Cantabria and the municipalities of Reinosa, Enmedio and Suso.
As a result of these agreements, the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation prepared a hydrological and hydraulic study and finally an action plan that includes the works executed.
Detail of the executed works
The works that have just been completed aim to improve the output of the flows that coincide at the critical point of the Ebro-Hijar confluence, located immediately downstream of the town of Reinosa.
In particular, work has been carried out on the left bank of the River Ebro, at its confluence and downstream with the Hijar, over a length of around 250 meters, adapting and protecting the margin from erosion, and the riverside vegetation has been recovered with the planting of trees, piles and seeds.
Likewise, in order to extend the Ebro river and allow the passage of greater flows in an extraordinary avenue situation, the slope has been dismantled and recessed over a length of 140 meters, increasing the width between 8 and 17 meters. With this, if in the future there is an event similar to that of December 2019, the damages in the populations upstream would be avoided or significantly reduced, having the flow rates a better way out.