More than 310 kilometers of torrents are being cleared to prevent flooding: "The floods will become increasingly intense."

PalmThe Balearic Government has cleaned more than 310 kilometers of torrents in the Balearic Islands in the last two years to combat flooding caused by phenomena such as floods, which, according to the president, Marga Prohens, will be "increasingly frequent and more intense." Prohens explained these figures during her visit to the Avenc torrent in Campos, where cleaning and maintenance work is currently underway. Of the kilometers cleaned, 253 were in Mallorca; 25 in Menorca, including interventions resulting from last year's flood; and 37 in Ibiza. In the first half of this year alone, work has been carried out on more than 50 kilometers.

To reinforce this line of work, according to Europa Press, the budget allocated to the maintenance and conservation of torrents has tripled this year, in addition to the authorizations granted to owners of properties adjacent to torrents to clean their sections. This allocation amounts to 17.1 million euros, including 1.5 million euros contributed by the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS) funds, five million euros from the insularity factor, and 10.6 million euros from the hydraulic infrastructure subprogram.

"Cleaning torrents does not guarantee that flooding will not occur, since torrential rains can concentrate an amount of water in just a few hours that is impossible for any torrent to absorb. However, what we can guarantee is that every meter cleaned reduces the likelihood of blockages and overflows."

The regional president pointed out that "zero risk does not exist" and that, according to experts, "climate change will make phenomena such as danas, intense and rapidly growing rains, increasingly common and more intense."

He also expressed concern about the high sea temperature in some places this summer, which "only multiplies this risk of damage."

Sediment removal

The General Directorate of Water Resources is also carrying out conservation and maintenance activities in the stream beds of Mallorca, Menorca, and Ibiza.

During August, actions are being carried out in different sections of Mallorca, such as the Estrecho (l'Arracó, Andratx); Vinagrella and Búger (sa Pobla); Las Curvas, Na Millac, and Na Pedaç (Capdepera) torrents, and the Manacor torrent. Work has also been carried out on the San Juan WWTP irrigation ditch, totaling more than 2.6 kilometers of cleanup.

These interventions are planned territorially through five action groups that group together different areas of the Balearic Islands. Three are in Mallorca (Tramuntana, central, and eastern regions), one in Menorca, and one in Ibiza.