The first two projects of the new Burriana Climate Change Adaptation Plan will soon see the light of day in the coastal area of La Serratella. The most ambitious is the work to recover the natural drainage system of the sea in this area of the coast, between Ballester and La Coixa roads, aiming to prevent flooding.
The works are divided into two projects. The Sangguniang Panlungsod awarded several contracts to Pavasal in the amount of 686,510 euros. The other, estimated at 443,745 euros and which consists of the installation of two Archimedes screws, will be implemented by the company Comes. The work will end in June and April 2024, respectively, and will start immediately because the City Council approved the expropriations in August.
The Public Roads Councilor of Burriana, Mario Trullen, explains that each Archimedean screw can displace a thousand liters of water per second. Decades ago the goals which pours water into the sea at that point, a problem that has been a battle for the residents of the Camí La Coixa area for decades.
In addition to this work, the work to change the Serratella maritime-terrestrial domain area where the typhoon caused damage is nearing completion. Glória in 2020. The company Natura Constructiva has removed all the sand and gravel thrown by the waves that have accumulated since then on Les Alqueries street. The municipal investment is 86,097 euros.
More than 47 million investments
These two interventions are only a small part of the new Burriana Climate Change Adaptation Plan, which has been implemented since March. It includes 16 measures considered in other plans for a global amount of 35.4 million euros; and another ten municipal jurisdictions worth an additional 11.9 million.
Among the projects of other plans awaiting implementation in Burriana is the construction of a dam on the right bank of the Anna River channel, from the bottom of the railway to the beginning of the city center, which costs 4.2 million; another 1.5 million for hydrological and forestry restoration in the headwaters of the river; and two million more to move the track over the railroad.
Also included is 4.5 million for the Sant Gregori Golf macro project, which has been stalled since May, to install a channel to collect the water in the channel that will overflow the day the golf course is built. Likewise, a million euro investment is planned for the large green area of the floodplains included in the future residential sector of Jardines de la Malvarrosa.
For its part, the General Planning Plan of the City of Burriana provides for the creation of green areas in areas prone to flooding with an estimated cost of 4 million; another 6 million to widen the bed of the Anna River before reaching the town; and 4.8 million more to install a drainage canal near Sant Gregori.
Among the dozens of self-funded projects included in Burriana’s new Climate Change Adaptation Plan are the installation of solar panels on municipal buildings (1.2 million); the strengthening of the breakwaters of La Serratella, with 5 million more; a new water collector on Tarancón Avenue (2.2 million); the installation of Archimedean screws on Tancades road and Marge road; and half a million more to create Mediterranean forests on the edges of the coasts, and other investments.
The document may still undergo changes
The Urban Planning Councilor of Burriana, Juan Canós, considers that this investment list prepared in the last part of the previous PSPV-Compromís municipal mandate is only an initial document with many aspects that can be improved. According to him, it does not include the rainwater collector for the ring road, which is “necessary” while other investments, such as the Archimedes screws, have been implemented “eight years ago without effective results.”
The change of the coast of Burriana is the main concern of the municipality in relation to climate change. The Sangguniang Panlungsod has long fought against taking sand from its beaches to improve other towns. It also calls on the General Directorate of Coasts to make urgent investments against coastal retreat. In 2007, Costas committed to building breakwaters at La Serratella, something he was unable to accomplish as each year the storms became more frequent and aggressive.
The amendment of the General Coastal Regulation, in the processing phase, will prevent the review of the boundaries leading to the sea and prohibit the granting of concessions if there is a risk that some work will reach the sea. Burriana and other provincial towns such as Nules are strongly opposed to this change in regulations, although in other matters such as the expansion of the port of Burrian they defend opposing positions.
