Line of action:

Urban environments

Status:

En ejecución

Location:

Arteixo, La Coruña (Galicia)

Execution date:

2022

Duration:

01/10/2022 - 30/09/2025

Total budget:

€955,174.35

Amount of aid from the Biodiversity Foundation:

€907,415.63

Coordinating entity:

Arteixo City Council

Two river courses run through the urban environment of Arteixo – Bolaños (also known as the Arteixo river) and the Bidueiro river – which present a notable fragmentation and loss of ecological connectivity caused by changes in land use and the presence of infrastructures, which in turn increases the risk of flooding in certain sections of them. The difficult ecological connectivity of both watercourses – belonging to the Exploitation System No. 11 “Río Mero, Arteixo e Ría de A Coruña” of the Galicia Costa Hydrographic Demarcation – is motivated by the existence of a series of obstacles (dams and breakwaters, as well as various ODTs) along channels that also have a very narrow cross-section, which as a whole causes a diverse problem, mainly linked to exposure to erosive phenomena, flow flow, and the dispersion of species of fauna and flora. In this context, it is worth highlighting precisely the notable loss of native trees (mainly the ameneiro, the flagship of the gallery forest) appreciated in favor of non-native species, and the scarcity or even absence in some stretches of river wildlife (although the presence of otters and trout was detected at some point near the urban center, which, as a bioindicator, it offers hope about the real possibilities of universalising these species also in urban sections) Likewise, this river network suffers from considerable drainage problems in certain locations (ARPSI Code: ES014-CO11-01-01) which implies a real risk of flooding in situations of large water mass in combination with the presence of transversal elements without sufficient section, thus representing a substantial risk to both property and the nearby population.

Despite the situation of the Bolaños and Byueiro rivers, with significant fragmentation and loss of ecological connectivity as well as considerable drainage problems in an urban and industrial context, these are two river courses with important possibilities for metabolisation and dynamisation in terms of functional ecology for their environment. The project foresees the development of measures for the recovery of morphology, gallery forest and habitat, improvement of profile for the restoration of margins and regeneration of the bed for the complete environmental recovery of both channels. Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems and the expansion of existing ODTs will also be developed in order to significantly reduce flood risk.

Some of the actions included in this project are:

• Removal of hard elements from the channels and the protective breakwaters.
• Improvement of the profile of river channels for the recovery of banks.
• Regeneration of sections of river beds.
• Planting of gallery trees-forest and habitat recovery.
• Expansion of existing ODTs.