For the second time in less than a fortnight the pipeline-laying work in the bed of Río Guadalfeo where it passes through the canyon has been damaged by surges in the river.

This double pipeline is part of the irrigation network connecting the Béznar-Rules Reservoirs to Valle Río Verde and the Costa Tropical in general.

Trenches with the pipes in them were flooded and sections up-ended or buried amongst silt and vegetation… for the second time!

The Central Government representative for the province of Granada, José Antonio Montilla Martos, said that the pipes will have to be hooked out, cleaned out and then relaid, once the trenches themselves have been redug.

He said that the construction workers were working against the clock, but there are no signs of activity this bank-holiday weekend, so it seems that working “against the clock” doesn’t include fiestas and weekends.

Representatives from the irrigation communities over the hills in Río Verde are certainly not happy. The Chairman of the Comunidad de Regantes del Bajo Guadalfeo, Maximino Prados, expressed his concern about the impact these delays are going to have on the Costa Tropical, farming community.

They pointed out the obvious; i.e., this work should have been carried out in the summer, taking advantage of the dry riverbed.

“This disaster could have been avoided had the work been carried out in the right season,” he said, adding, “For months the river flow was diverted so that work could be carried out but the construction work did not advance according to plan, so that now they are carrying it out in the rainy season, resulting in these problems.

Editorial comment: Amen!

(News: Velez de Benaudalla, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: Rio Guadalfeo, Pipeline Construction, Disrupted, rainfall