Line of action:

Urban environments

Status:

En ejecución

Location:

Caspe, Zaragoza (Aragon)

Execution date:

2022

Duration:

16/09/2022 - 31/12/2025

Total budget:

€1,586,133.15

Amount of aid from the Biodiversity Foundation:

€1,460,987.24

Coordinating entity:

Caspe Town Hall

The entry into operation of the hydraulic complex of the Mequinenza dam in the mid-60s of the twentieth century meant disconnecting the final section of the Guadalope River, upstream of its mouth in the Ebro River. The affected section, about 6.6 km long, is located between the Caspe (at the old confluence) and Moros dams, and is only fed by the scarce inputs from the aquifer, the runoff from the small inter-basin, the irrigation returns of ditches and the effluents from the Caspe treatment plant. The circulating waters, quantifiable in a few l/s, finally meet the barrier of the Caspe dam, from the foot of which they are pumped into the basin of the Mequinenza reservoir by ENDESA, the company that owns its operation. The high organic load of the circulating waters pose health problems in the area. The prolonged isolation for more than half a century and the elimination of the flow regime of the river has led to the serious alteration of the riverbed and river space. The invasion has been accentuated by other uses: constructions, road network, landfills and crops, the riverside vegetation has practically disappeared, replaced by opportunistic species typical of marshy areas, the river has lost its dynamism and its original morphology (gravel bars, a certain sinuosity…) and there has even been the burial of a section of approximately half a kilometre to install a park on it.

All this problem justified the inclusion of this ancient river section among the projects selected to develop the First Horizon (2015) of the National River Restoration Strategy.

The importance of the project is evident as it has been framed in the First Horizon (2015) of the National River Restoration Strategy. The action consists of adapting the channel through the morphological and environmental restoration of sections of river subject to strong anthropic pressure. The piped section of riverbed, about 500 metres long, which exists under a park that has occupied the old river space, will be opened to the outside. In other areas where fluvial space has been lost, it will be restored to a more natural state with slopes and other elements characteristic of the primitive morphology, favouring the recovery of river habitats. The restoration of hydraulic connectivity in the river will be achieved through the construction of a semi-submerged dam and subsequent delivery to the old channel downstream of the Moros dam.

Some of the actions included in this project are:

• Morphological restoration of the old riverbed.
• Environmental restoration of the old riverbed.
• Adaptation of the Rimer irrigation canal.