• The City Council wants to carry out the cleaning of the new Turia riverbed in the summer before the rains come
- “We are in a hot summer, after which a rainy season will come, and we must have everything planned so that what happened last October does not happen again,” emphasized the mayor
- Catalá has criticized “the neglect of duties and the indignity of the Júcar River Basin Authority” and has denounced that “the Júcar River Basin Authority was not where it should have been on October 29th and is still absent almost a year later”
- The mayor has celebrated the report from the Ministry of Ecological Transition that supports the City Council of València’s position on the expansion of the capacity of the Turia riverbed
The City Council of València will assume alone and with its own resources the cleaning of the new Turia riverbed as a preventive and safety measure for the autumn season. This was announced by the mayor, María José Catalá, who denounced “the neglect of duties and the indignity of the Júcar River Basin Authority, CHJ, for its irresponsibility” in the face of possible future heavy rain episodes.
Catalá recalled that the City Council of València, together with the FVMP, requested the cleaning of the new Turia riverbed from the Júcar River Basin Authority, “a cleaning – she emphasized – that cannot be done with just a couple of machines, as it is more than 12 kilometers of highly deteriorated riverbed, with a lot of mud, many objects, and many shrubs and reeds.” “And, for the second time, we have received as a response from the Júcar River Basin Authority that, if we want to do it, we should do it ourselves,” she denounced.
In fact, the Municipal Council agreed last week to address the Authority to demand this comprehensive cleaning, “which is their responsibility,” María José Catalá recalled, and described the response as “outrageous.” “The Júcar River Basin Authority was not where it should have been on October 29th and is still absent almost a year later,” Catalá stated.
Therefore, the mayor of València announced that the City Council will request authorization to carry out this cleaning “now, in the summer before the rains come,” and explained that, subsequently, the cost of the operation will be claimed from the Authority. “If they don’t do it, we will, as we have done on other occasions, just as we did with the cleaning of the beaches in the South.” “They shrug their shoulders, don’t do their job, and then we suffer the consequences. And I, as the mayor of València, will not wait for October to come and for it to rain to act,” she affirmed.
During her statement to the media today at the Forn d’Alcedo, the mayor denounced that “the Júcar River Basin Authority has decided to abandon the municipalities,” so she reiterated her willingness to “clean the riverbed by hand.” In response to the municipal opposition’s position, expressed in the Municipal Council meeting, that the cleaning of the riverbed should be done from the top down, Catalá recalled that it should have started months ago, and recommended that this reflection be directed to “the president of the Júcar River Basin Authority.” “I will do what I can do within my jurisdiction, which is the València section, and if something happens, it will surely help if the last section of the riverbed, the one that reaches the sea, is clean, out of common sense,” she stressed.
The Ministry supports the City Council
Likewise, the mayor recalled the position of the municipal government, aligned with the neighborhood associations of the three districts affected by the dana, “that we have been insisting on from day one that the new Turia riverbed should be expanded before making some specific diversions of the Saleta ravine or the Poio ravine.”
“And today is the day we have learned of a report from the Ministry of Ecological Transition that supports the City Council of València – Catalá celebrated – and that clearly states what we have been saying from day one: that the capacity of the Turia riverbed needs to be expanded; that in order to divert the Poio and Saleta ravines, the capacity of the riverbed must be analyzed, improved, and increased.”
The mayor recalled that on October 29th “we were half a meter away from the new Turia riverbed overflowing. And, therefore, we cannot make diversions or channelizations if its capacity is not increased.” Therefore, Catalá highlighted the report from the Ministry of Ecological Transition that reinforces the City Council’s position “as we have been saying from day one.” As she emphasized, “we are talking about the Saleta ravine and the Poio ravine, but first we need to consider where we are going to divert these ravines and what capacity there is. And, finally, months later, time has proven me right,” the mayor celebrated.
The mayor concluded her statement by emphasizing that “recovery efforts not only involve improving infrastructure, but above all ensuring and providing peace of mind and security to the residents.” “And that requires in-depth interventions in infrastructure. I have been demanding and advocating for a metropolitan southern plan for months, with hydraulic infrastructure that improves the safety of this area.” “We are in a hot summer, after which a rainy period will come, and it is essential that we have everything planned so that what happened last October does not happen again,” Catalá concluded.