Line of action:

Urban environments

Status:

En ejecución

Location:

Murcia (Region of Murcia)

Execution date:

2022

Duration:

01/12/2022 - 31/12/2025

Total budget:

€1,758,062.00

Amount of aid from the Biodiversity Foundation:

€1,670,158.90

Coordinating entity:

Murcia City Council

As a result of the various anthropogenic interventions throughout the twentieth century in the Segura riverbed, specifically in the section where the VIVILLO project is located, the channel was altered. According to the existing images, this meander presented a great morphological diversity on its banks, in which a riverbed with rapids, sandbanks, backwaters and islands could be seen. After the channelling of the Segura River in the early 90s, as a defence tool against the very serious floods in the area, the sinuosity of the river in its original route was reduced, shortening its length and modifying the riverside ecosystem. The elevation of the mounds disconnected the usual course of the section with its floodplain. The meander of Vivillo was filled with earth, and was abandoned. Apart from the loss of biodiversity of the stretch of the river and its original morphology, there is a considerable risk of flooding due to large floods of the river. If the water exceeds the limit of the motes (especially in its northern area), it overflows and floods the large areas corresponding to the original floodplain of the river. As they are flat areas located at a lower level than the motte and without major obstacles, the flood sheet spreads quite quickly from the moment of overflow, occupying a large area and affecting the nearby population. Once the river flood has passed, the elevation of the mounds, despite delaying the flooding, also prevents the return of the waters to the river once the overflow occurs, thus making it difficult to drain the flood terraces. The permanence of water on the terrace increases the damage caused by flooding and also the cost of its evacuation, which is sometimes done artificially. This action aims to recover the 260 meters of the original course of the Segura River, reconnecting the Vivillo meander to the original channel, which would allow the river to return to a more natural morphology, recover the native riverside forest and the biodiversity of the area, while reducing the risk and damage caused by floods.

The channeling of the Segura River in the 90s as a tool for defence against floods left a large number of meanders – such as the Vivillo – unused, filled with earth. Today, it is known that canalizations cause the loss of the dynamics and mobility of rivers for the maintenance of their good ecological status, in addition to their capacity for overflow and dissipation of energy in the floods. For this reason, VIVILLO includes a complete fluvial restoration of the original channel, creating a wider and more diverse bed, which will improve the quality of water and its ecosystem functioning, increasing erosion control and underground recharge, generating a riparian space, where a riparian forest will be developed that will attract biodiversity.

Some of the actions included in this project are:

• Land management and permitting.
• Adaptation of the original channel of the old Vivillo meander.
• Flood protection system.
• Revergetation of the meanders that allows the knowledge of the riparian forest.
• Itineraries for the enjoyment of the river ecosystem and thermal comfort for the population.