Orihuela residents report movement in the road surface beside the Acequia de los Huertos

Médico Temístocles Almagro Street in Orihuela again required the intervention of the Local Police and Fire Brigade in October, after residents reported movement in the road surface. The residents affected link their reports to leaks detected in buildings near the Acequia de los Huertos and are calling for a technical assessment of the area.

According to documents provided by residents, the Police attended on 11 June 2026 and noted that the asphalt was moving downwards. Emergency services returned on 7 and 8 October. Javier Carmelo Catalán Hernández, the representative of an affected community, says that during the second visit they observed the road giving way under weight. He also says that municipal Infrastructure officials were asked to attend but did not arrive while the emergency crews were there.

The Fire Brigade’s written report mentions a crack and separation at expansion joints in the façade, as well as damp on walls associated with leaks, according to the documents provided by residents. The warning about a possible risk of collapse comes from the residents’ representative’s account and does not appear verbatim in the report. Residents want technicians to assess the condition of the ground and establish whether there is a link between the leaks, the irrigation channel and the movement in the road surface.

The residents’ complaint coincides with a ruling by the Valencian Transparency Council, received by Catalán on 13 October. Ruling 557/2026 upholds his complaint against the Town Hall and sets a one-month deadline for it to provide the requested documents held by the council. The documents requested include plans, technical studies and records relating to the redevelopment of the street and work on the irrigation channel.

Information about work on the Acequia de los Huertos has also reached Les Corts Valencianes through a response from the Consell. According to documents shared by those affected, the works under the «3rd phase of the Vega Baja» have a construction cost of €830,772.25 and include waterproofing with sprayed concrete, repairs to the top of the channel and replacement of sluice gates. The residents’ representative has requested the project, plans, budget and certificates to identify the sections covered and check whether they affect the area around the street.

In February 2025, the Town Hall announced work to waterproof the irrigation channel, after attributing leaks detected in a building to an unwaterproofed brick extension. In that announcement, Infrastructure Councillor Víctor Valverde said that a crack shown publicly was at an expansion joint and stated that the building had no structural risk. That explanation concerned the building’s leaks and does not, by itself, establish the cause of the road movement now being reported.

In May 2026, Ciudadanos said that leaks continued despite waterproofing work carried out in December 2025 and put the number of people affected in a building on the street at more than 300. The party then brought a motion to the full council meeting calling for a solution. The residents’ representative says that residents offered to fund a geotechnical and hydrogeological study and that they have complaints before various bodies, including the Síndic de Greuges.

The documents requested from the Town Hall will allow residents to learn about municipal studies and work relating to the street and the irrigation channel. The request submitted to the Generalitat aims to clarify the scope of the Vega Baja works. The Acequia de los Huertos is part of Orihuela’s historic irrigation network, whose system was established in the Andalusi period, according to documents published in the BOE.

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