Line of action:

Urban environments

Status:

En ejecución

Location:

Ampuero (Cantabria)

Execution date:

2022

Duration:

01/10/2022 - 31/12/2025

Total budget:

€3,543,077.92

Amount of aid from the Biodiversity Foundation:

€3,365,924.02

Coordinating entity:

Ampuero City Council

The nucleus of Ampuero is located next to the Asón River, in a section where it forms wide meanders, near its mouth in the Limpias estuary. Several of its tributaries, including the Bernales River and the Rocillo Stream, also cross the nucleus. As for the morphological state, the sections that cross the nucleus are partially channelled with elements of different nature, from earth slopes to concrete breakwater and concrete or masonry walls, and the communication routes cross them by bridges. In particular, the problem of flooding led the Cantabrian Hydrographic Confederation to carry out channelling works with breakwater from the 70s, denaturing the Asón riverbed without solving the problem. This entails a notable deterioration of ecological aspects: absence of lateral and vertical connectivity, absence of mobility and resilience, practically absent natural vegetation, problems of longitudinal continuity, low quality of river and terrestrial habitats, etc.; Artificial landfills and waste of anthropic origin are also appreciated. It is part of the “Río Asón” protected natural area, whose strategic objectives include recovering the structure, composition and functionality of habitat 91E0*, eliminating anthropic pressures and improving connectivity. As for flood risk, the nucleus of Ampuero suffers frequent and serious flooding, which led to its inclusion among the ARPSIs (areas of significant potential flood risk) of the Flood Risk Management Plan of the Western Cantabrian Hydrographic Demarcation, with the code ES018-CAN-5-1. The alternatives are conditioned above all by the presence of buildings.

The nucleus of Ampuero suffers from frequent and serious floods, which led the Cantabrian Hydrographic Confederation to channel the Azón River with breakwater, which meant its denaturation, without solving the problem. The AMPUERO project will restore the naturalness of the Azón and its tributaries and improve the flood protection of the urbanized areas, by dimensioning the recessed mounds for floods with a return period of 100 years.

Some of the actions contemplated in this project are:

• Liberation of occupied river spaces.
• Expansion of the free section of the passage structures.
• Restoration and naturalization of the riverbed.
• Removal of non-natural materials and remains of vegetation from the riverbed.
• Improvement of river connectivity.
• Elimination of invasive plant species.
• Complementary flood defence measures.