Posted on February 23, 2017
The race is on to restore San Javier and Los Alcázares beaches by Easter
All along the coastline of the Region of Murcia work is under way to repair and restore the beaches which were damaged during the heavy storms of December and January, and in the Mar Menor, where the worst of the erosion occurred, sand is being dredged from the Marchamalo canal in La Manga in order to replenish the beaches on the other side of the lagoon.
30,000 cubic metres of sand will be extracted from the Marchamalo canal, which is one of the five “golas” running across La Manga between the Mediterranean and the Mar Menor. This one is unique in that it is entirely manmade, although it is by no means new: the Gola de Marchamalo dates from 1762, when the licence to build it was granted to the Real Hospital de la Caridad in Cartagena so that “encañizada” fishing structures could be set up here close to the city of Cartagena.
When the urban development of La Manga began in the second half of the 20th century, though, fishing activity was quickly curtailed – the last nets were removed in the 1980s – and a permanent bridge was built over the Gola to replace the rickety structure which previously existed. In the wake of the bridge came the building work which now makes La Manga visible from dozens of kilometres away on the other side of Cartagena.
The Gola de Marchamalo is always shallow – only canoes and the smallest of boats can pass through – and the fact that it is artificial means that dredging is frequently necessary. The last major dredging took place in 2011 , but now another operation is under way in the race to restore the Mar Menor’s beaches by Easter, when the first major tourist season of the year brings a flood of visitors to the Costa Cálida,
At the same time as being vital for the beaches of San Javier and Los Alcázares, the work being undertaken by diggers will make the Gola suitable for more boats, and in the near future a similar dredging operation will be undertaken in El Estacio in order to provide another 15,000 cubic metres of sand. This will be redistributed to beaches in the northern half of La Manga itself, rather than on the inland side of the Mar Menor.
Source: Murcia Today
