The Ebro Resilience Strategy addressed two key issues at a public session held in Alfaro (La Rioja) on October 30: citizen participation through an activity report to the riparian society, and the technical monitoring of its actions.
In the Plenary Hall of the Alfaro Town Hall, with the welcome of its mayoress, Yolanda Preciado, this conference was open to the population of the intervention areas of the Milagro (Navarra) and Alfaro section, as well as its surroundings. Organized by the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation and the Government of La Rioja, in collaboration with the Consistory of Alfaro, it was also attended by technicians from Orekan – Environmental Management of Navarra, representing the Government of Navarra, also a participant in the Ebro Resilience Strategy.
The activity was divided into two parts: a space to explain the interventions carried out so far and the effects that are being observed both from the hydrological point of view and from that of environmental recovery, and another dedicated to citizen participation.
Exhibition of performances
The Ebro Resilience Strategy aims to reduce flood damage in the middle stretch of the Ebro River (between Logroño and La Zaida) and in the lower reaches of its tributaries. The intervention area that includes the Milagro-Alfaro section is called the “Combined Actions Section” and consists of a series of natural water retention measures to adapt the section to the flood risk, thus reducing the impact.
These interventions are conceived jointly, generating local benefits, but also, and above all, a positive impact on the entire stretch in terms of flood risk reduction.
This section extends from Milagro to Castejón (Navarra) and includes interventions already carried out through the Strategy (Ortigoso site in Milagro, La Nava site and El Estajao meander in Alfaro); actions carried out through the LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 Project, with participation of up to 55% of the European Union financial instrument (meander of La Roza and Soto de Alfaro, in Alfaro); and actions also planned through this LIFE project (adaptation of the meander of El Señorío, in Castejón).
Benefits
In the absence of a longer term analysis, with data from a greater number of flood episodes, the comparison between the studies prior to the actions and the real effect of the flood episode of the Ebro River in February 2024 (with works already executed) concludes that the interventions are meeting their objectives in terms of adaptation and flood risk reduction.
In the presentation on the hydrological aspects, presented by the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation, maps of each of the intervened areas were shown with the actual situation reached (water level during the maximum flows of that episode in 2024), compared with the hydrological modeling carried out before the works by means of computer programs. In all cases, and also for the section as a whole, the expected benefits have been achieved or even more favorable flood situations than those initially estimated.
The positive effect on the section is expected to increase with the execution of the second phase of the works in El Ortigoso (Milagro) and with the intervention for the recovery of the river space in the meander of El Señorío, in Castejón (Navarra).
As for the benefits of environmental restoration, presented by the Government of La Rioja, the value of the recovery of nearly 100 hectares as river space in all the areas intervened was highlighted. Although the technical evaluation can be carried out with greater precision as the areas reconnected to the riverbank copses are developed, the presence of the European mink, one of the most endangered mammals, has already been verified in some of the recovered areas.
Another highlight was the coordinated work between the Administrations, which collaborate closely to make these interventions a reality, as well as the support and involvement of the City Councils, exemplified in this session by the Consistory of Alfaro.
The Ebro Resilience Strategy aims to be a framework for collaboration between the different Administrations and other actors, to work in a supportive and coordinated manner in the management of flood risk in the middle stretch of the Ebro River. It is part of the subprogram of the Flood Risk Management Plan of the Ebro River Basin District, and is made up of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, the Ebro River Basin Authority and the Autonomous Communities of La Rioja, Aragón and Navarra.
Participation
The second and most extensive part of the session was dedicated to the analysis with the attendees. After resolving doubts and queries on specific aspects, an evaluation was made of the knowledge of the interventions and the perception of their effects.
The assessment of the works was positive, as was the perception of their benefits in the event of floods.
The participants expressed the need to continue working to disseminate information on these projects to the population and to support interventions that bring citizens closer to the river, so that it becomes part of their free time and daily life.
