Locals in Órgiva protested outside the Town Hall over “illegal excavations” along the Guadalfeo riverbed.
A local ecologist group considers that the removal of rock and stones from the riverbed and its banks, which has reportedly been carrying on since the 30th of September, could become a serious danger to the ecosystem of the river course.
The ecologist group is joined in their concern by the local branch of the Green Party, as well as the Morreón Neighbourhood committee.
According to the spokeswoman of the neighbourhood committee, Isabel Illobre, the regional water authority had hired a private company to extract stone from the Pantano de Rules, but this digging work is being carried out “involvoing several irregularities.”
“They were supposed to dig up 450 cubic metres of stones, whereas lorries have carted away nearer to 1,000 cubic metres,” she explained, adding, “the company says that it was a typing error and the contracted amount should have been 4,500 – a zero had been left off – but if the company does remove that amount, they will leave the riverbed without any stones.”
If the company had dug up the rock and stones in a floodable arm of the reservoir, there would have been no problem, she says, but they are digging much further up, nearer to the town, altering the riverbed, which could cause flooding during the winter.
Lastly, it appears that the company has been using the riverbed unofficially as road for the transport of the extracted material, rather than use the winding N-346. To facilitate this they have built ramps etc along its course. When a second tracked digger appeared closer to Morreón, irate locals ran out to stop it and called the Guardia Civil, who found that the digger driver did not have the necessary authorization to carry out work there.
(News: Orgiva, Alpujarra, Granada, Andalucia – Photo: http://www.panoramio.com/user/4358458)