“Fighting floods is not just about infrastructure”

Moderated by journalist Mario Daza, the round table had the participation of Manuel Romero, CEO of Emasesa; Ramiro Angulo, Secretary General of Water, and Juan José Denis, President of ASA Andalucía and Director General of EMASA.

The debate began with a reflection on prevention and planning water strategy in the event of rainy events. Taking the rains of October 29 in Seville as an example, Manuel Romero pointed out that “the floodplain of the Guadalquivir is Seville, which has historically caused it to flood” and on this basis, strategic investments were made. “The problem is that when it rains in the city, we have to drain the water towards the river, which is what Emasesa has been working on for fifty years. We do this by improving this sanitation network day after day,” he explained. Among the tools are storm tankslike the two in Seville or improvements like the port collector.

However, Romero admitted that the situation last October reduced the network’s capacity due to morning rains, which caused flooding throughout the day. “We must prepare in advance, with tools that help us have fundamental information in real time to be able to make decisions,” he admitted. However, the Emasesa CEO also argued that having the ability to “Overcoming these floods is not just about infrastructure“No one can stand this.”

In this sense, Ramiro Angulo, Secretary General of Water of the Junta de Andalucía explained that a flood in a city occurs for two reasons: because there is no capacity to absorb rainwater and as a result of flooding, as is the case of the dana that affected the Valencian territory at the end of 2024. “Our role is to monitor the weather and monitor the situation to inform the Civil Protection teams.because the city or the infrastructure is affected in all areas,” he said. Angulo explained that they have early warning systems that allow them to know what is going to happen in sufficient time for citizens to react. In addition, the Secretary General of Water also wanted to send a warning message: “We must train the population well.”

For his part, Juan José Denis, president of ASA Andalucía and general director of Emasa, explained that the entity also works all year round to clean up the network, intensifying it with the arrival of autumn. Denis also highlighted the need to take certain protocols when faced with the risk of flooding and to be agile in decision-making.

Lessons

Considering the different episodes of rain and floods that have occurred in recent years, Manuel Romero points out that several conclusions can be drawn that serve to improve the situation. “By having real-time data, we can see what happened, what decisions were made and how to improve them.”

In this sense, Ramiro Angulo highlighted the urgency of a new financial framework that envisages new actions and integrate various administrations. “At the territorial level, we are working on plans to mitigate the risk of flooding in our areas,” he said. The Secretary General of Water also appreciated the early warning system, which “allows us to measure things that we could not measure before. We have a very clear information and infrastructure system and the challenge is not just to plan, but to execute what is planned.

“We need to prepare in advance, with tools that help us have essential information in real time”

Manuel Romero

CEO of Emasesa

Regarding infrastructure, Angulo also raised the question of whether to continue designing as before. “We need to consider that new developments can absorb large amounts of water. We must all take advantage of this and begin this reflection. from the perspective of not only what we have, but also what we can do differently to better approach the future.

Juan José Denis recognized the challenge of transforming cities. “We are in a constant process of redesigning cities“We must respect the passage of natural waterways and encourage more filtering surfaces, because water is annoying when we are wet, but it is also dangerous when it traps us,” added Denis.

On the development of cities, Romero lamented that “our work is never equal.”“, which is why he made it a priority to “insist on communication with citizens, so that they can see how they work and how it works.”

Alert citizens

Another axis of the debate was precisely the establishment of communication and alert systems to inform citizens. “When it rains you gotta get out of the way as much as possible and try not to be on the street, because otherwise the actions cannot be carried out well,” said Denis.

In this sense, Ramiro Angulo explained that the alert system is based on two quantities: temporal intensity and temporal period. “It is necessary to study all this carefully to prevent cities from being saturated,” he explained, adding that “the consequences of the rains depend on many factors. “I would like to send a message of calm, that there are many professionals and people working there.”

“We have a very clear information system and the challenge is not only to plan, but to execute what is planned”

Ramiro Angulo

Secretary General of Water

Regardless, all the experts agreed that They would rather err on the side of caution when issuing alerts and the importance of conveying respect for water to citizens. Angulo stressed that “it is absolutely essential that people pay attention to the recommendations of Civil Protection”, while Romero argued that, just as the population already knows their responsibility during periods of drought, “in the data we must ask them to be careful”. In this sense, Denis recommended that citizens “not get angry when they see elevated streets.” or in construction, because it involves flood prevention work.

Simulation systems were also mentioned to raise awareness among the population so that they know how to act in these situations. “At some point, exercises will need to be done in places such as schools or hospitals so that they know how they should behave. It is essential that we work on this with our civil protection colleagues and do a fantastic job of disseminating and improving the protocol. Unfortunately, we are going to have to live through an episode with these characteristics, or even several,” concluded Angulo.

Focus on smart cities

Building smart cities was one of the main points of the debate. “We are more and more aware, now it is more organized and we care more, but we must work to have smart cities in the most global sense,” stressed Juan José Denis.

Working hand in hand with administrations was also another of the conclusions drawn during the debate.. “At Emasesa we are clear, we have an agreement with the Junta de Andalucía and we hope to knock on the door of the Ministry to complete this famous Tamaguillo collector, which would give us great peace of mind, but it is an important investment,” Romero emphasized.

“We have a very clear information system and the challenge is not only to plan, but to execute what is planned”

Juan Jose Denis

President of ASA Andalucía and General Director of EMASA

For his part, Ramiro Angulo defended the importance of the Andalusian Water Pact of 2020 and called for it to be extended to the entire country. “Only one voice is needed before Europe” and “it is also very important that all Mediterranean regions are heard, because climate change is also a thing of the past.”

Furthermore, all experts agreed on the need to speed up permit issuances. “We need to make procedures more agile and allow others to manage us. In this sense, it is very necessary to simplify the legislation”, defended Denis, who stressed that it is also necessary to have human resources capable of executing and issuing permits and to use private companies to “do the work”. “We can’t do everything with our hands, we have to work together to make things happen. and cities are improving,” he added. “We must also continue to demand this great pact and bet on its dissemination to citizens. This strategy must be approved in the next budgetary framework of the European Union because, if we do our homework, everything will be easier.