The Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar sanctioned the Paiporta City Council in 2018 for a small spill on the Rambla del Poyo but did not carry out the necessary work to avoid the tragic flood in this Valencian city. As OKDIARIO learned, the unease at the Town Hall of this population of 27,000 inhabitants It’s total with this confederation which depends on the Ministry of Ecological Transition. They regret that, although the confederation has not carried out the contracts concluded to prevent flood damage, it has dedicated itself to combating a small puddle of uncontrolled spills.
A sentence from Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV) that this newspaper saves confirmed in 2020 a fine of 3,000 euros imposed by the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar on the Town Hall of Paiporta for discharge of wastewater into the Rambla del Poyo canal. A municipal sewer broke and was not urgently repaired and a small puddle formed.
The municipality’s lawyer, Jorge Lorente Pinazo, tried to appeal the sanction, but it was to no avail. The judgment rejects the appeal presented by the Town Hall of Paiportino against the resolution of the Hydrographic Confederation of Júcar of February 2018. The court considers that the sanction is fully justified due to the “obvious negligence” of the municipality in the maintenance of its infrastructure. Today, the Town Hall has other priorities – such as the search for the missing and the restoration of normality – and does not have the necessary resources to pursue precisely the negligence which caused the confederation not to carry out the work necessary to prevent the floods that cost the city lives. more than 200 lives a few days ago.
The case which was a headache for the local Corporation due to the bursting of a pipe dates back to 2012, when the Police Department of Water and Public Canals detected multiple pour points in the municipality of Paiporta. Inspectors confirmed the fracture of a collector of the municipal connection, through which we could observe the residual water circulating inside. This situation meant that, during rainy periods, wastewater was discharged directly into the Rambla del Poyo canal.
The situation has become more complicated over time. During an inspection carried out in April 2016, environmental technicians verified that the condition of the connection it got worse since the first complaint. A new inspection in November 2016 confirmed the progressive deterioration of infrastructure and the persistence of pollutant discharges during rainy episodes.
The above-mentioned lawyer submitted that there was prescribed the offense. Furthermore, among other arguments, he alleged exhalation of the procedure and that the evidence was insufficient. However, the court rejected the arguments presented by Paiporta City Hall in its defense.
The defended sentence according to which the sanction is “sufficiently motivated» and that the municipal council knew the facts attributed to him, as well as the existence of previous incidents which had not been resolved. The court found it serious that the council, which has direct jurisdiction over wastewater disposal, had not adopted the necessary measures to resolve a problem that had been going on for years.
Concerning the amount of the sanction, the TSJCV considers it “sufficiently proportionate», since the 3,000 euros imposed are in the lower range of the range authorized by the law, which sets fines of up to 10,000 euros for this type of offense. Furthermore, the court recalls that “the lack of planning or the provisions relating to wastewater treatment, as well as agreements with other administrations, do not allow the municipality not to comply with the provisions of the Water Act.
The sentence ends with a warning to the council, urging them to “adopt the necessary measures to prevent similar situations from recurring in the future” and to “prevent, as far as possible, that the ravine continues to be contaminated with wastewater from municipal collectors. The judgment also includes the imposition of procedural costs on the municipal council, which are set at 1,000 euros.
Legal sources close to the matter believe that it did not make sense to appeal the case to the Supreme Court because the amount was very small. In any case, they find it scandalous that there was no room for negotiation to reduce the penalty. Today they see with regret how the efforts to confirm a fine in Paiporta could have been dedicated to cleaning the canals and carrying out the works to avoid the tragedy experienced.
