Washed-up detritus from Valencia floods puts Albufera wetland in jeopardy

By Miguel Gutierrez and Guillermo Martinez

One of Europe's most biodiverse coastal wetland reserves has been inundated with tons of plastic waste, wrecked cars and pharmaceutical products by the flash floods that ravaged southeastern Spain last month.

The Albufera lagoon just south of Valencia, home to at least 372 species of birds as well as endangered freshwater fish such as the Valencia toothcarp, is now awash with refrigerators, petrol cans, footballs and other wreckage.

"It's dramatic to see first-hand how an area of such scenic, cultural and economic value and beauty has been turned into a toxic waste dump," said Eva Saldana, executive director of Greenpeace Spain.

Two-thirds of the 21,000-hectare (52,000-acre) Albufera Natural Park consist of rice paddies that provide the basis of Valencia's famous paella dish - and 17% of all Spain's rice.

Parts of it are now contaminated with practically undiluted sewage flowing in from inoperative treatment plants and damaged sewers.

Pablo Vera, a conservationist who has worked at the park for two decades, said the ecosystem could bounce back "as long as there are resources, and an economic effort to remove the waste".

Valencia's city hall says restoration will cost at least 9.58 million euros ($10 million).

Its report said the unprecedented floods had raised the lagoon by a metre (three feet). The 120 million litres (32 million gallons) that gushed in were equivalent to 50%-70% of the water that normally enters the system in a year.

Carles Sanchis, a researcher who heads the park's governing council and helps coordinate waste-collecting volunteers, noted there were now high concentrations of pharmacological residues.

"The analysis of their impact on the soil and on wildlife will have to come later and will depend on the work we do now," Sanchis said.

Fisherman Pepe Caballero was still unable to work the lagoon because rescue teams were still searching it for bodies. "The Albufera cannot become another dumpsite," he said. "The authorities need to get their act together."

Rice farmer Vicent Moncoli saw his warehouses flooded to a depth of 2 metres, and most of his stores destroyed. But the unpaid help he has recruited gives him hope that next season's harvest will go ahead:

"If I were a pessimist, I'd be sitting in a chair."