Cities must adapt to weather events like DANA to prevent them from happening again situations like that of Valencia. To do this, one solution is to build storm basins, which store water quickly, thus preventing flooding.
One of the largest storm reservoirs in the worldIt is located in Madrid. “When it starts to rain, the water that the network does not admit, especially in the event of heavy rain, arrives in this reservoir. This water is transported to the treatment plant where it is treated and discharged into the river, but now in good condition”, explains Manuel Rodríguez Quesada, deputy director of infrastructure conservation of the Canal de Isabel II.
This underground infrastructure can accumulate 400,000 cubic meters of water to avoid possible flooding. To do this, they work with models that allow them to detect the weak points of cities.
“Thanks to these hydraulic models that we have, which simulate rains of different intensity, we know the most sensitive areas that can be flooded,” explains Manuel Rodríguez.
In Malaga they took note and the cconstruction of a storm reservoir. “It will be a reality that will certainly be multiplied by 100. We must insert it into the overall sanitation system of the Costa del Sol,” says José Antonio Jaimez, project director.
Solutions are possible to create sponge cities, that is, permeable cities capable of mitigating intense rainfall.
“If we do not invest in new infrastructure, we will have to spend money to rebuild and this will have a very big social impact,” says Daniel Castro, director of the School of Engineering, Canals and Ports of Santander.
Another alternative is the reforestation of canals to laminate, stop, the massive waterfall. “Soils without plant cover drain much more quickly,” he emphasizes.
At the time, Valencia decided to divert the course of the Turia, which meant that the impact of DANA was not so great.
