With the first phase of the test completed, which was carried out at the Espigón, the second phase has been launched, which is being carried out in the Segre riverbed at the height of the Piscinas complex, for which a suction technique is used.
The Ebro River Basin Authority (CHE) has begun the second phase of a pilot project to determine the best technique for removing the more than half a million cubic meters of sediment deposited at the mouth of the Segre River, in the Municipal Regatta Course, originating from the release of water from the Barasona Reservoir. This release, carried out in the mid-90s, has caused significant losses to the local economy. According to a study commissioned by the Mequinenza City Council, these losses amount to 400 million euros and 1.100 jobs over the last ten years.
The accumulated sludge has rendered one of the best regatta courses in the country unusable and is affecting the development of other sporting events held in the municipality, among other issues, in addition to creating problems in water collection, which has forced the City Council to provide a new supply infrastructure for the companies located in the Riols Industrial Estate (PIR).
The first phase of the pilot project, announced a year ago and included in the "Strategy for the Integrated Management of Sediments in the Ebro River Basin District," which is part of the hydrological plan approved in February 2023, began last November in the Espigón area. There, 4.700 cubic meters of sludge were extracted and transported mechanically, and then dumped directly into the main channel of the Segre River.
Once the first phase was completed, the second phase of the trial began downstream, also in the Segre riverbed, opposite the Municipal Swimming Pools, and is scheduled to last six months. This phase tests the effectiveness of a sediment suction system by moving 8.000 cubic meters of sediment to the main channel through direct discharge, so that, as in the previous case, the existing current can carry it away.
According to the Ebro River Basin Authority (CHE), the data from this pilot test, which will mobilize a total volume of 12.700 cubic meters of sediment, is expected to be available by the end of the year. Based on the collected data, a comprehensive plan will be developed using the system that yielded the best results.
