The European project GUARDIAN will guarantee the environmental future of La Vallesa and Turia Natural Park

Specialists and politicians debate the challenges of protecting the Environment and the fight against climate change at the II Circular Economy Conference.

The construction of a hydraulic system based on towers topped with irrigation sprayers using regenerated residual water -the SIDEINFO system- and the execution of green barriers made up of species that are more resistant to fire, is the proposal set out in project GUARDIAN.

An innovative project that won an award on 10th October at the third call for Urban Innovative Actions (UAI) of the European union held in Brussels. This is a European Union initiative whose objective is to facilitate the execution of new solutions to the urban challenges facing us and which chose it, along with 43 other projects from the member states, in the climate change category, where Riba-roja was pre-selected along with other big cities like Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, Manchester and Seville.

Project Guardian has received a subsidy of 4.4 million euros from the FEDER Fund of the European Union, a grant that represents almost all the 5.5 million euros that this project will cost over the next three years and whose financing will be completed by the private entities that have taken part in its development.

This was the central topic of the session at the II Circular Economy Conference organised by the Town Hall of Riba-roja de Túria in La Vallesa de Mandor, along with the participation of Hidraqua, Paterna Town Hall and the other partners that make up the project; Cetaqua, Medi XXI, Turia Natural Park, the Polytechnic University of Valencia (IIAMA) and Valencia University (Water Economy Group).

Taking part in the first technical round table were Massimo Marras, Hidraqua manager, who gave a detailed explanation of the project, Marina Arnaldos, Head of the Hydrological Resources Department at Cetaqua, Lidia Puchol, from Medi XXI Environmental Engineering, Antonio Ballester, director of Turia Natural Park, Guillermo Gordo, Environmental expert from Paterna Town Hall, Antonio José Morales, an expert from EcoRiba and Vicent Hernández from the Water Economy Group which, along with the Water Engineering and Environment Institute, complete the circle of this project’s partners.

Also attending the meeting were the mayors of Riba-roja de Túria and Paterna, Robert Raga and Juan Antonio Sagrado, respectively, the Head of Initiatives from the Vice-Chancellorship of Territorial Projection, Ángel Morales, the general director for Environmental Quality for the Regional Government of Valencia, Joan Piquer, and the general director of the Security and Emergency Response Agency, José María Ángel, who explained that, “the sum of new technologies at the service of initiatives like Guardian is going to minimise the consequences of fires”.

For his part, the mayor of Riba-roja de Túria, Robert Raga, stated that, “we have an important responsibility when it comes to understanding how to combine protection and sustainability of our environment through initiatives like Guardian that fit perfectly into our environmental project, EcoRiba with the protection of the local residents of the residential areas that border our town”.

The mayor of Paterna, Juan Antonio Sagredo, declared that, “the commitment to, and implication of, public administrations to protecting the environment through innovative projects with R+D+I and public participation is fundamental for creating sustainable towns and environments”.

Finally, Hidraqua manager, Massimo Marras, pointed out that, “the irrigation envisaged in the area will be regulated based on the measurement of field data through a network of sensors so that only the amount of water required will be provided, thus showing a commitment to sustainability and the efficient use of this resource”.

Actions

After an initial phase that started on 1st November, the initiatives to be implemented from now include an advanced treatment of part of the residual water flow treated at EDAR Camp de Turia II, for the elimination of emerging contaminants that allow the regenerated water to be re-used.

As well as the design and construction of the necessary hydraulic infrastructures (water tanks, water pipe networks, pumps,…) that will feed the fire prevention hydraulic system. Likewise, the execution of green barriers comprised of species that are more fire resistant that help to slow down the advance of a fire front, should the need arise, and the execution of mechanisms that allow regulated irrigation based on the measurement of field data through a network of sensors so that only the amount of water required will be provided to prevent uncontrolled vegetation growth.

Also included in this project are actions to recondition the La Vallesa reservoir, forestry work as well as fire monitoring work and the refurbishment and improvement of the La Vallesa fire lookout tower.

The project also considers communications activity and fire prevention training for the population residing in the wildland-urban interface, a socio-economic analysis of the global impact of the project as well as the replicability of project GUARDIAN in other urban environments.