Floodable Park Project Incorporating Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) in Torrevieja (Alicante)
CONSTRUCTION
PROJECT
BAckground
Torrevieja is exposed. Torrential rainfall events have repeatedly exposed the city's drainage vulnerabilities. AGAMED's 2017 Stormwater Master Plan mapped the catchments and set out the action programme. This project delivers one of its key interventions.
Objectives:
• Integrate hydraulic infrastructure with existing vegetation and expand the city's green network.
• Retain and attenuate stormwater in a sensitive area of the city, reducing the impact of extreme events.
• Improve water resource management.
• Promote biodiversity and sustainable development.
• Implement nature-based solutions.
• Create resilient urban spaces that function as climate shelters.
• Activate the space for public use.
The design
Four complementary interventions on a single site:
- Stormwater retention basin — controlling discharge into the network, limiting solids, and protecting the city's sensitive areas from extreme events.
- SuDS zones — permeable pavements and rain gardens replicating natural processes to improve runoff management across the site.
- Sports area integrated into the floodable park — activating the space between rainfall events.
- Green areas throughout the plot — climate shelter, cooling, and long-term resilience.
- Protection and maintenance of existing utilities within the site.
