Torrevieja approves flooding plan which has been law for over 25 years

The Torrevieja City Council voted unanimously in the regular plenary session yesterday Monday, February 23rd, to approve the Municipal Action Plan against the Risk of Floods. The government team called this “strategic” tool will help improve the city’s ability to prevent, coordinate, and respond to heavy rain and flooding.

13,000 euros

The plan’s drafting, which had been on hold for more than 25 years and was awarded in February 2023, cost only 13,000 euros (not including VAT) to hire an outside company that specialises in writing plans for a municipality that has a budget of more than 180 million euros a year.

The Torrevieja City Council didn’t make it a priority to grow until the terrible floods in the Vega Baja region in September 2019 and the one in Valencia in October 2014. The Valencian Government’s 1999 decree, which approved the first Special Plan for Flood Risk in the Valencian Community, already showed that the city was at high risk, especially in the urbanised areas around the Torrevieja lagoon. Since then, there have been many heavy rains that have flooded the Torretas area. This order required the city to have this instrument in place. Other amendments to the law, such the 2003 approval of the Territorial Action Plan against Flood Risk (PATRICOVA) and the 2010 update of the same 1999 decree, made this necessity clear again. And most importantly, the change to the Patricova plan in 2015, which made the flood risk level much higher for about five thousand properties along the Torrevieja lagoon, from the eastern shore of the wetland to the CV-905 road.

The main goal of the new plan is to protect people, property, and the environment by creating a clear organisational structure, setting clear rules, and updating the list of resources that are available. Approval comes after the public comment time is over, during which no one objected, and all the necessary technical and administrative reports have been filed.

The plan’s drafting, which had been on hold for more than 25 years and was awarded in February 2023, cost only 13,000 euros (not including VAT) to hire an outside company that specialises in writing plans. This is a small amount for a municipality that manages a budget of more than 180 million euros per year.
Torrevieja, a coastal town that is especially vulnerable to flash floods and heavy rain, is taking a big step toward a safer and more resilient management model in the face of climate change. The City Council approved the plan after four years of work (the file was opened in mid-2022). According to reports, the document has a lot of information about watersheds and areas that are likely to flood. It also has plans for evacuating people, warning the public, and coordinating operations through the Cecopal (Local Emergency Coordination Center) and other emergency response agencies.

Additionally, the municipal technical studies and those from the business that runs the integrated water cycle (A gamed) show that the plan is completely up to date and includes the most current enhancements to the stormwater network.

After it gets full approval, the plan will be sent to the Civil Protection Commission of the Valencian Community for the required approval. This will finish the plan’s integration into the regional and state civil protection system.

Federico Alarcón, the Councillor for Emergencies of the Torrevieja City Council, said in a statement following the plenary session that it was important to approve this plan “because the municipality is especially vulnerable because of its geography and demographics.”

Alarcón said that Torrevieja is a seaside town with a complicated landscape that includes areas near lagoons and places that could flood. This is made worse by the fact that there are more than 110,000 people living there, and that number almost doubles and then goes up again in the summer, when heavy rain and storms like the DANA storm are more likely to happen.

The councillor said in his speech to the plenary session that the plan is being made in accordance with Law 13/2010 on Civil Protection and Emergency Management of the Generalitat (Valencian Government) and that it is part of the hierarchical planning system, working together with the Special Plan for Flood Risk in the Valencian Community. He didn’t talk about the 1999 decree, though.

It has been noted that one of the most important parts of the document is that it looks at the real risk to the municipality by identifying flood zones, critical points, and impacts on key infrastructure. It does this using cartography and technical criteria based on the Patricova and state regulations. It also identifies vulnerable elements, such as population, health centres, residences, and public facilities. It sets up a clear organisational structure, with a Plan Directorate, a Municipal Coordination Center (Cecopal), an Advanced Command Post, an Advisory Committee, an Information Office, and basic units. This makes sure that each responsible party knows what to do in case of an alert. It also regulates operations by defining pre-emergency and emergency phases, protection measures, evacuation, restoration of services, and return to normality. It becomes a practical tool and not just a theoretical one, and it includes a catalogue of means and resources, as well as mechanisms for permanent updating.

Alarcón said that climate change is making extreme weather events happen more often and with more force. He said that this plan “doesn’t stop rain, but it does stop improvisation; it doesn’t get rid of risk, but it does make people less vulnerable.” The councilman stressed that the document, which is no longer available on the municipal website after the public consultation period, is not just “a mere administrative formality,” but “a tool for collective safety.”

After Storm Alice caused the Doña Inés and Las Torretas flood control ponds to overflow in a single day in October 2025, as well as the newly finished La Hoya pond, the City Council sped up the process by giving the drafting of the Vega Renhace Plan investment projects to the Consell de la Generalitat of Ximo Puig. These projects had been sitting in a drawer for more than three years and cost money.

Agamed’s master plan to lower the risk of flooding, which was approved in 2018 with at least 25 million euro in funding, would link all of the flood control basins so that the water could flow into the sea. However, the project is currently on hold because Agamed (74% Veolia, 26% City Council) wanted to do it in exchange for an extension of its concession in Torrevieja without a tender, which is not legally possible.