The Catalan Water Agency has approved the project to dismantle the old homes, service buildings, and the Sentmenat canal located on the left bank of the Ter, next to the Colomers dam, in an action that will also affect part of the protected river environment between Colomers and Foixà.
The paradox of the agreement is that it gives the green light to remove elements linked to an infrastructure that never came into operation, but excludes any intervention on the main structure of the dam, which still awaits flood studies and impact assessments on services before deciding its future.
The ACA approved 865,361.72 euros to remove six buildings and a canal that never worked
The approved project has a budget of 865,361.72 euros, although the execution will not be immediate because it does not have short-term budgetary allocation. The initial process affects 27,666 square meters of temporary occupation and sets a non-binding valuation of 60,965.96 euros, without planning for definitive expropriations.
The action includes the removal of six annexed buildings built in 1970, as well as a warehouse, the SICAT building, a drinking water tank, lighting, several service lines, a well, and a septic tank.
The transformer station will be excluded from the dismantling because it remains linked to an active service.
The left bank canal, which reached the rec del Molí but never entered operation, will also disappear. In parallel, the right bank canal did not get past its intake and was not even fully built.
The dam built between 1964 and 1967 still awaits studies before any decision
The resolution does not affect the Colomers dam. The infrastructure, built between 1964 and 1967, is 103 meters long, six meters high above the river, has six gates, and a planned capacity of 50,000 cubic meters.
It was never operational due to the permeability of the ground. For this reason, the ACA has studied alternatives such as removing gates or lowering the dam by up to 1.50 meters, although none of these options are part of the agreement now approved.
Before any intervention on the main structure, the agency must complete flood studies and analyses of possible impacts on existing services, including an electrical connection.
The project acts within a protected area of the Riberes del Baix Ter
The area where intervention is planned is part of the Riberes del Baix Ter, a protected area by Natura 2000 and PEIN. The project therefore incorporates work to eliminate invasive vegetation and the planting of riverbank species.
During the public information phase, no objections were registered in the town halls of Colomers and Foixà or in the offices of the Agència Catalana de l'Aigua.