Lines of action
The measures contemplated in Ebro Resilience are grouped into two lines of action: flood risk management and improvement of river ecosystems.
The Flood Risk Management Plan of the Ebro River Basin District (PGRI) contemplates four general lines of action in which the different measures are included: prevention, protection, preparation and repair.
Flood risk management must therefore be addressed through flood risk management measures. preventionto avoid an increase in the risk of flooding, floods, landslides and protectionto reduce the already existing risk, of preparationto minimize the damage caused by flooding and flooding episodes. recoveryThe aim is to return to normality as soon as possible.
Within the framework of the Ebro Resilience Strategy, these four general lines of action have been called Flood Risk Management Lines.
In addition, Ebro Resilience will promote the improvement of the different river ecosystems, complying with the environmental objectives established in the European Water Framework and Habitats Directives.
The measures aimed at achieving these two objectives are grouped under the Line for the improvement of river ecosystems.
Flood irrigation management lines
Preventive measures:
The main objective of prevention measures is to avoid increasing the risk of flooding of existing activities and to prevent the installation of vulnerable or unsuitable activities in at-risk areas.
The following prevention measures will be developed in Ebro Resilience:
- Conservation and maintenance of watercourses. Including the permeabilization of large, densely vegetated sediment masses (curage technique).
- Land management measures.
The lowering of a mote and the establishment of a relief channel have mitigated the risk in Cabañas de Ebro.
Protective measures:
This line of action is based on reducing the probability of flooding by means of physical interventions aimed at reducing surface flooding in a specific area.
The types of protection measures contemplated in this Strategy have been successfully implemented in the area of action since 2015:
- Protection of urban centers.
- Optimization of the defense system.
- Relief channels.
- Improved drainage in transverse structures.
- Meander reconnection.
Adaptation measures are foreseen for both crops and agricultural infrastructure (access, irrigation, etc.).
Preparation measures:
Preparedness measures aim to reduce the vulnerability of the population and the economic cost caused by floods, i.e. to reduce damages.
Unlike the previous ones, the active subject of the preparedness measures are not the Administrations and authorities. These measures are aimed at the population affected by the floods, and the active participation of those involved is essential to achieve the proposed objectives:
- Improvement of hydrological information.
- Improved communication protocols.
- Self-protection of the population.
- Adaptation of vulnerable elements.
Continuous learning is essential to increase our resilience, strength and capacity to recover from future events.
Recovery measures:
Recovery consists of the application of measures aimed at re-establishing normality in the disaster area, once the immediate response to the emergency has been completed.
Reducing the time to return to normal is essential. In many cases, the prolongation of the time required for those affected to recover their daily lives can be more traumatic for the population than the flooding episode itself.
- Promotion of insurance.
- Restoration of affected services.
- Continuous learning for the improvement of future management.
Improvement of river ecosystems
Directive 2000/60/EC states that a program of measures must be established in order to achieve the environmental objectives set out in its article.
Measures to improve the status of water bodies.
One of the objectives of the Water Framework Directive and the revised text of the Water Law is to achieve good status of water bodies.
The measures contemplated in Ebro Resilience will contribute to the improvement of the morphological conditions of the Ebro River and the lower reaches of its tributaries.
In addition to these measures, actions will be taken to improve other parameters of the water body.
- Improved longitudinal continuity.
- Improvement of water quality.
Reintroduction of Margaritifera auricularia.
Measures to improve the condition of river habitats:
During the development of other measures contemplated in Ebro Resilience, it is planned to recover for the river area a series of lands that are currently degraded or occupied by other uses.
River restoration actions will be carried out on these lands to restore the habitats of interest, either through passive restoration, where river dynamics allow it, or through active restoration. In the sections coinciding with protected areas belonging to the Natura 2000 Network, or with other protection figures, the programs of measures of these areas will be developed.
In addition to the above, the middle stretch of the Ebro is home to river species with a high degree of protection and interest, some of which are considered critically endangered. It is necessary to articulate measures aimed at the conservation and proliferation of these species through the recovery of their specific habitats, through the reintroduction and eradication of exotic species that have occupied their ecological niches.
- River restoration.
- Protection of species of interest.