Ecologistas en Acción, the ecologist activist group, have sent out a stiffly worded press release denying that they are to blame for the Vera floods.
They say that certain “political groups” have been hinting that the reason the riverbed was never cleaned – and hence turned into a perfect setting for a flash flood- was due to their efforts.
Instead, Ecologistas en Acción point out that on several occasions they asked for the riverbed to be cleaned, pointing out that the Rio Antas was full of flytipped materials, dumped building waste, and full of holes where people had stolen gravel from the rambla.
All this makes for perfect “flash flood” situations, as the riverbed accumulates water and forms natural dams that eventually break under the pressure.
Furthermore, they lay the blame for the accumulation of caña, the “bamboo” in the riverbed, squarely on the shoulders of the Vera water treatment plant, which throws away a vast quantity of dirty water which caused the huge proliferation of the stuff.