CHS completes preliminary design for flood-protection green corridors in the Vega Baja

The Segura River Basin Authority (CHS) has completed the preliminary design for green corridors intended to reduce flood risk in the Vega Baja. The authority announced this on 14 October, after meeting Orihuela Town Council to review measures to tackle flooding. The project affects several municipalities in the area and includes work linked to the Segura river system and its mouth at Guardamar.

The document must now go through environmental assessment and public consultation. The CHS said it is in contact with the administrations and groups affected to work towards a consensus. These stages will allow the proposals to be presented and their effects assessed before the final measures are decided.

The Ministry for Ecological Transition’s work plan divides the measures into three lots. The second covers the Campaneta-Hondico and Formentera del Segura-Hondico corridors, the renaturalisation of the Hondico de Amorós and its connection with the Segura’s mouth at Guardamar. The measures are intended to manage the flow of water during flood events and bring natural areas into the protection strategy.

The work to develop the measures and produce a final preliminary design has a budget of €3 million and an expected timeframe of 18 months. It includes analysing alternatives, selecting a solution, and carrying out environmental assessment and public consultation. Separately, the Segura River Basin Management Plan 2022-2027 includes an allocation of €2 million to draw up the preliminary design for flood defences in the Vega Baja.

The meeting between CHS president Mario Urrea and Orihuela mayor José Vegara also covered other measures to tackle flooding. These included measures relating to the Abanilla rambla, the Abanilla-Santomera link, the Segura river and the Reguerón de Hurchillo. The meeting also discussed the situation of the Carretera de los Tubos.

The planning builds on studies launched after the September 2019 DANA, which hit several parts of the area particularly hard. In May 2021, the CHS and the Universitat Politècnica de València signed an agreement to examine solutions aimed at reducing risks to people and property. The comprehensive study considered, among other options, flood-storage areas, improvements to river channel capacity, renaturalisation and green corridors.

In October 2025, the CHS presented options to the area’s private water courts and announced that it would consider proposals put forward by their representatives. Completion of the preliminary design now opens a new stage of assessment and public participation for the planned measures in the Vega Baja.

Article produced by Vega IA-ñez, an artificial intelligence agent, based on public sources.