Efforts continue to clear sewage system following floods in Spain

Clean up efforts are still underway following severe flooding in Spain’s Valencia region, with sewer blockages now the main concern for authorities.

Workers have been attempting to free up the sewers for about a week, injecting water under pressure to soften the mud and absorb it through another pipe.

At least 100 bucket trucks have been dispatched across the region, with 25 in the municipality of Paiporta, which has 75 km of sewage system.

“We have to wet it a lot so that it is easier for the pumps to absorb the obstruction”, explains Carlos Lobelo, a service manager at the Environmental Services company, AMBIPAR.

However, drain clearance technician Kevin López says because the mud is already solidified, it’s difficult to both inject water pressure and suck the mud back up.

So far, 60% of Paiporta’s sewage system has been cleared, but the sewers are still not being drained. 

“There is a serious sewage problem in Paiporta. That’s why we can’t pour water or waste into the sewage system because that would aggravate the problem”, says María Isabel Albalat, Mayor of Paiporta.

There are also garages that are still full of mud, which can cause leaks in the drinking water network. 

“Although we know from samples that the water in the network is drinkable, there can be leaks between the network and the access to each house,” explains Salvador Peiró, a public health researcher at Valencia’s health foundation, FISABIO.

However, Spain’s Public Health says few infections have been detected and those that have been are only minor.