Abstract
The management of runoff during torrential rainfall events is a significant problem in urban areas of southeast Spain. The increase in soil sealing and the occupation of areas prone to flooding have aggravated this problem. Due to this situation, municipal administrations, in collaboration with the concession holder for the supply of water and sewage services, Hidraqua Gestión Integral de Aguas de Levante SA, are committed a more efficient management of non-conventional water resources. An example of this can be found in the municipalities of Rojales, Daya Nueva, and San Fulgencio. These towns are located in the Bajo Segura region of the province of Alicante, where various initiatives have been implemented that break away from the traditional paradigm of rigid infrastructures. These initiatives include green spaces or areas, and sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) or nature-based solutions (NBS). This article presents various case studies. Firstly, in the town of Rojales, where several actions are being undertaken to improve the management of wastewater and rainwater and provide a solution to unauthorised dumping, as well as encouraging the use of reclaimed water with the creation of a recreational green area, El Recorral Park. Secondly, in the case of Daya Nueva, the Europa Park constitutes a recreational green area, Europa Park, facilitates runoff drainage by SUDS and NBS. Finally, the creation of a floodable pond in the municipality of San Fulgencio encourages the use of wastewater, thus avoiding the discharge of this non-conventional water resource into the sea. In addition, the pond facilitates the appropriate management of runoff water. The working method in this article has been twofold: firstly, bibliographical references have been consulted from other national and international areas; and secondly, the technical projects in the case studies have been analysed in detail. Several field trips have been made to the selected municipalities, accompanied by the technical personnel in charge of the execution of the projects, to examine the measures adopted. The results show that the implementation of these systems contributes to adapting to climate change and creates more resilient urban spaces.
Highlights
In the current context of climate change, the problem of managing urban runoff is increasingly important in the western Mediterranean basin, where the effect of global warming has a direct impact on the increase in atmospheric extremes, as reveal by studies that show an increase in the number of rainstorms and an increase in the intensity of rainfall [1,2,3,4,5,6]
The aims of this research are: (a) analyse recent actions in municipalities in the Bajo Segura area to improve runoff management; (b) highlight the implementation of nature-based solutions (NBS) and sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) as potential measures to mitigate the impact of runoff and control its quantity and quality; (c) assess the efficiency of implemented actions; and (d) promote NBS and SUDS as efficient measures for sustainably managing runoff and climate change in compliance with the sustainable development goals
The wastewater treatment system in Rojales consists of five treatment plants (Figure 2): Rojales Casco, to the north, is currently operated by the Global Omnium Medio Ambiente; and four treatment plants to the south are operated by Hidraqua Gestión Integral de Aguas de Levante SA: Ciudad Quesada I and II, Lo Pepín and Doña Pepa
Summary
In the current context of climate change, the problem of managing urban runoff is increasingly important in the western Mediterranean basin, where the effect of global warming has a direct impact on the increase in atmospheric extremes, as reveal by studies that show an increase in the number of rainstorms and an increase in the intensity of rainfall [1,2,3,4,5,6] This change in rainfall patterns is one of the causes of the flooding of urban environments and the collapse of sewage and stormwater drainage systems [7]. According to a study by Gil-Guirao et al [12], 3608 floods occurred on the Spanish Mediterranean coast during the period 1960–2019
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