The Estepona City Council reports that it has started clearing and pruning work on the beds of some twenty streams and rivers that run through urban areas with the aim of preventing floods and fires.
The work, which began a few days ago in Arroyo Vaquero and Arroyo Enmedio, will continue in the following streams: Hornacino de Levante, Hornacino de Poniente, La Galera, Las Abejeras, El Saladillo, Judío, Cantarranas, La Miel, Los Polvitos, Taraje, Pantoja, Two Sisters and Anton.
On the other hand, action will be taken on the banks of the following rivers: Guadalobón, Monterroso, La Cala, Padrón and Huertas del Padrón.
The deputy mayor of the Services and External Control area, Blas Ruzafa, has highlighted the importance of these interventions because they free the channels of obstacles that could prevent their normal drainage, while avoiding the formation of plugs that could cause flooding in the event of heavy precipitation.
Likewise, it has stressed that the clearing of stream beds is also carried out with the intention of avoiding forest fires that put the residents and the natural heritage of the municipality at risk.
Ruzafa has also recalled that the City Council only has powers to act on the channels that are in urban areas, while the Andalusian Government is responsible for the maintenance of those that run in the rest of the municipal areas.
These clearing and pruning works have been resumed after the summer season, since the Junta de Andalucía urges not to act from spring on the banks of the rivers to respect the biological cycle that coincides with the laying of eggs of the fauna of the zone.
For this reason, all the work that is being carried out on the banks of streams and rivers has the mandatory authorizations from the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment.
In addition to these actions, the Consistory continues to carry out clearing and cleaning tasks on rural roads in the municipality. In fact, since last February, action has been taken on more than 200 kilometers in length, including the two sides of each road.
Among the roads that have been worked on are La Madroña, Nicola, Reinoso, Trocha de Guadalobón, El Reloj, Alberdina-Castor or Cortes, among others. The person in charge of Services and External Control has pointed out that these maintenance and clearing works are carried out periodically to keep the roads clean and clear of dry vegetation, especially in times of high temperatures, thus helping to prevent forest fires.
Ruzafa has reiterated that the cleaning and clearing of rural roads “is a priority for the Consistory, since with its maintenance other problems derived from excess vegetation can be avoided, such as visibility difficulties for drivers traveling on these roads and incidents during the rainy season.
Finally, the deputy mayor of the Services and External Control area explained that, since last June, the municipal brigades that deal with the clearing and cleaning of streams and rural roads have been reinforced with the acquisition of new material means ( a retromixed machine and four individual brushcutters) and four more operators added to the six that were already part of the device.