Comienza el encauzamiento del barranco de Vallehermoso

The Minister of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion, and Water of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuel Miranda, and the President of the Cabildo of La Gomera, Casimiro Curbelo, visited this morning the area where the first works of the channeling project of the Vallehermoso ravine have just begun. Accompanied by the mayor of the municipality, Emiliano Coello, they learned about the details of the intervention, which will involve an investment of 5.9 million until the second half of 2026.

The channeling of the Vallehermoso ravine represents the fulfillment of an old aspiration of the municipality and the island. The first project dates back to 2006 and was modified several times before being definitively approved in 2023. On May 27, the Government Council of the Canary Islands guaranteed the multi-year financing of this project, which for 2025 has a budget of 4.5 million euros in the Autonomous Community’s budgets.

In a meeting with the media, the Minister of Territorial Policy, Manuel Miranda, highlighted «the government’s financial effort to finally unblock this long-awaited and necessary project,» and thanked «the close collaboration of the cabildo and the municipality in the implementation of works that are essential to ensure the safety of the residents of Vallehermoso and prevent flood risks in the future, while also respecting the preservation of the ravine’s environment and improving transit between both banks of the channel.»

The President of the Cabildo of La Gomera, Casimiro Curbelo, recalled that this action is part of a set of projects initiated in 2003 aimed at channeling different ravines on the island such as La Junta in Alajeró, Cañada del Herrero in San Sebastián, or Valle Gran Rey, which have «provided security to the channels and combated risks in nearby populated areas.» In this regard, he argued that these projects are «essential for the development of La Gomera, and particularly for municipalities like Vallehermoso, which have experienced a population decline and where any investment is very welcome.»

Curbelo emphasized the importance of channeling in the area closest to the municipal area, «especially because there are houses near the channel that require protection measures. In addition, the project will allow the construction of a park in the location, which will complement the channeling works,» he pointed out.

On his part, the mayor of Vallehermoso, Emiliano Coello, expressed the satisfaction of the local council with the start of the works, «which will significantly change the urban development and environment of the nucleus of Vallehermoso in terms of the urban area.» In this way, he pointed to the collaboration undertaken by the City Council to take into account all sensitivities regarding the heritage value of the Vallehermoso Ravine.

The project includes five different interventions, with the aim of improving the safety of the environment and users, especially in times of heavy rain. It has begun with the initial clearing work in the areas to be intervened.

Thus, between Los Chapines and Casa del Barranco, the channel will be improved and its capacity increased. In the area near the Town Hall, work will be done on the Macayo ravine, a tributary of the main one. The work will focus mainly on the area before and after its channel, which runs underground in that area. The section parallel to the beach road, which is regularly affected by floods, and the final area of the ravine will be two other points of work for this project, which includes the replacement of the pedestrian walkway, damaged by one of the recent floods.

Hydraulic Meeting

After the visit to the area, the Minister of Territorial Policy and the President of the Cabildo met at the Vallehermoso Town Hall with the mayors of the island, who reviewed the hydraulic actions that the Government is currently carrying out in La Gomera. The working meeting also involved the Deputy Minister of Territorial Cohesion and Water, Marcos Lorenzo; the Director General of Water, Mónica Gómez; and the Director of the European Funds Office, Fernando Azcárate.

The Government of the Canary Islands is currently managing various projects in La Gomera totaling more than 17 million euros, in a clear commitment to boosting the integrated water cycle on the island. Among others, two projects with Next Generation funds totaling 5.9 million euros stand out, aiming to build a new wastewater treatment plant in Alajeró and improve the existing one in Valle Gran Rey.

In addition, the emergency work in the Igualero reservoir (650,000 euros) is about to be completed, and the improvement of the pipeline between this reservoir and Guarimiar, amounting to 553,370 euros, will be resumed shortly, a project that had to be halted due to the urgency of the previous work. The Acanabre transfer project (1.1 million) is also set to begin. All of these projects will be completed by 2025, as well as the channeling of the La Concepción ravine, a project carried out by the island council and supported by a grant of 833,625 euros from the regional government.

The Autonomous Community’s budget for this year also includes a previous study and the drafting of the project for the future desalination plant in Valle Gran Rey, with an estimated cost of one million euros.

Finally, Manuel Miranda expressed his regret that another project for the island, worth 1.5 million euros for improving the water distribution network, reservoirs, pumping equipment, and remote control system, is currently at risk because «Madrid has not sent the 20 million euros to the Canary Islands for hydraulic works scheduled for 2024, which we will continue to demand from the ministry.»