Expanding the capacity of rainwater reservoirs or pumping to treatment plants are priorities to avoid polluting discharges
Avoiding unseen discharges into the Mar Menor is the objective of the 20 million euro investment announced yesterday by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, to the mayors of coastal municipalities to put an end to freshwater leaks into the subsoil from urban networks. The contribution of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge is part of the Priority Actions of the Mar Menor and will be distributed among the municipalities of the catchment basin based on their registered population and the seasonal population, but also according to their territory and the impact of their sanitation networks in the lagoon. In the absence of incorporating La Unión in the distribution, which will change the final figures, the municipality that will receive the most funds will be San Javier, with 4.6 million euros. It is followed by Cartagena, with 4.1 million euros; Torre Pacheco, with 3.5 million; San Pedro del Pinatar, with 3.2 million; and Los Alcázares, with 2.9 million. Fuente Álamo will receive 1.7 million.
Morán has conveyed to the mayors the urgency of starting these works, which must be tendered in each town hall to speed up the renovation of the sewage networks separate from those that carry rainwater. The lack in the coastal region of a sewage system isolated from the sanitation network has caused serious problems in the past, especially during torrential rains, which overflow underground pipes and cause wastewater to rise to the surface and reach the Minor Sea.
The oldest neighborhoods are those that do not have separate channels. In addition to the problem of sharing pipes for sanitation and rainwater, there is the deterioration of the network, whose age causes leaks into the subsoil.
Despite the fact that the city councils budget each year for network renovation works, the magnitude of the total work makes the comprehensive renovation plan endless. In San Javier, barely 15% of its network is separate; The situation of San Pedro del Pinatar is similar. In Los Alcázares, with the new anti-flood works, a boost has been given to renovation, although “we are still less than half of the municipality,” says the mayor, Mario Pérez Cervera. The City Council will allocate 200,000 euros this year to create rainwater collection networks on Isla Tabarca street. The mayor hopes to allocate part of the state investment to install more pumping power to the treatment plant.
The mayor of San Javier, José Miguel Luengo, also sees it necessary to use part of the funds to “buy land to increase the capacity of the water reservoir next to the treatment plant or build a floodable park.” He believes that, with this help, they will be able to expand the new network “in the main avenues, where there is more runoff.” “Creating separative networks is a most necessary work,” says the mayor of San Pedro del Pinatar, Visitación Martínez.
Hugo Morán has also confirmed to the mayors the investment of almost 3 million euros to protect public buildings from damage from the rains and to distribute among residents who install preventive measures against floods. The municipality of Alcazar, which registered the largest number of affected properties, has received 1.3 million euros. San Javier receives 600,000 euros; Torre Pacheco, 500,000 euros; and Cartagena, 400,000 euros. 200,000 euros are dedicated to San Pedro del Pinatar, of which 100,000 euros may be used to subsidize private measures.
#Miteco #contributes #million #install #separate #networks #Mar #Menor