«During the years that I was Minister of Public Works and Urban Planning, I did not experience a DANA like this last one, but there were very complicated storms. Shortly before, the Tous dam had broken, which was a catastrophe,” warns Javier Sáenz de Cosculluela (Logroño, 1944) as soon as he picked up the phone. That wall collapsed due to torrential rains in October 1982, causing a flood that killed forty people in the Valencian town of Alcira. A year later, another storm caused 34 deaths during the Bilbao festivities. The Renfe convoys dragged by water are still remembered. When he took charge in 1985, during the Government of Felipe González, another six people died in Alcira due to a new storm and flood. And in 1995, ten more in Yebra, Guadalajara. “In Spain there have always been avenues of water,” explains the former socialist deputy. As a consequence of this and the droughts, in the six years that he was minister, much of his efforts were focused on “developing an intense hydrological policy that was abandoned years ago and that would be a priority to recover,” he defends. This week, ABC reported that, in 2021, the Government overturned an amendment to fix the Poyo ravine, where most of the victims occurred in the last DANA. Cosculluela – who a year ago presented his resignation from the PSOE for his disagreement with the amnesty law promoted by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez – was responsible for the large number of dams that were built in the 1980s, some as famous and controversial as the one in Riaño. «Spain is a country with very particular orographic characteristics, which cause flooding in many areas of the country. However, the dams that were made on the Tagus, for example, cut off many avenues of water. Let us not forget that hydraulic works, in addition to storing water for irrigation and supply, have a regulatory and prevention function,” he emphasizes. Standard Related News Yes The CHJ did not implement a flood prediction system that other confederations do have Isabel Miranda visual Yes Flood-prone areas In which areas of Spain can this phenomenon be repeated? Luis CanoWhat was that hydraulic policy like? It was very intense when it came to creating regulation and irrigation dams, but also to channel water from the ravines, avenues and channels through which floods used to occur. Was it easy to get it started? That point is important, because there was a great lack of understanding, especially in the big cities. The media and those who called themselves progressives and environmentalists opposed these policies. The proof is that, in the Zapatero Government, all that policy disappeared, inaugurating a trend that was also maintained in the Rajoy era. Now progressivism consists of criticizing hydraulic policies and presenting apparently cheaper alternatives, but the truth is that it has been abandoned. Zapatero was the first great enemy of dams. Finally, investments in hydraulic policies were allocated to the environment, which was, obviously, a totally wrong decision. Would these investments have prevented or minimized the damage caused by the last DANA? I think so. Keep in mind that some impressive investments were made in the Júcar River, because it was an area where there were frequently powerful floods of water, as in the entire Valencian Community. Rivers were channeled and drainage systems established with controlled and regulated channels. I repeat, it was a very powerful investment both in Murcia and in the Valencian Community to prevent these floods of water, but in six years what was possible was done. In a country like ours, one hundred percent of the problems are not resolved in that time. As a former minister, how do you think the latest DANA has been managed? Governments have been very concerned about the environment and ecology, but I assure you that hydraulic works, as I said, have not been among their main concerns. Regarding the last DANA, the central government should have declared a general alarm immediately, as it had the powers to do so. For that we have the Army and a powerful administration with means of all kinds. He shouldn’t have waited for them to ask him from Valencia. And as far as the management of the regional government is concerned, it was a disaster. What could have been done in the previous months or years? Recover that investment in preventing floods of water. Things were done on the Segura River that prevented later catastrophes. The problem is that hydraulic policy does not give votes, they are investments that almost no one sees and whose effectiveness is only perceived when something extraordinary happens. In the most investing ministries, such as Public Works and Development, the management of hydraulic works was very important and absorbed many resources, which environmental managers did not like. That is why he fell into the Zapatero government, Rajoy’s government and, of course, Sánchez’s government. You presented a national hydrological plan that focused on the equitable distribution of water and the prevention of floods… That’s right, but the Iraq war meant that the Government did not take care of it. Then things were in other hands. In that plan, the chapter on waterways was very important and established all kinds of action forecasts. I sent copies to other subsequent ministers, but it seems that they were not interested. What are the priorities to be addressed now? The first thing is to recover the towns that have been devastated, especially the homes of those affected. That is a priority. Attend to the human being who has suffered, but at some point it will be necessary to create a powerful direction of hydraulic policies again. Don’t forget that we have floods, but also droughts. People only remember Santa Barbara when it thunders.
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