Environment

Concern over Soller torrents

Torrent.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterSoller30/10/2018 14:05

Soller residents are wanting solutions for the maintenance of torrents. The town hall is being overwhelmed by the continuous demands being made, especially on social media. The administration says, however, that is a matter which comes under the government's water resources department.

Many residents want the torrents to undergo "drastic" clearing, but others believe that eliminating all the vegetation would be a mistake in terms of the landscape and drainage. Some technicians tend to concur with this view.

Nevertheless, even the most ardent environmentalists concede that vegetation growth has been excessive. In the centre of the main channels there are enormous trees which have grown over the past twenty years. It is now seventeen years since domesticated goats were used to maintain the vegetation, so now some stretches are covered with cane and vines. On Sunday, a fire crew had to remove two trees that had fallen by a bridge.

The town hall explains that some specific actions to clear vegetation have proved totally ineffective. It wants a "sustainable and manual" system, but many residents believe that this isn't enough and therefore want a mechanical system, at least to begin with.