Gent del Ter mobilized in Baix Empordà to demand the protection of the Ullà weir and request its reconstruction after the damage suffered by the wall. The march, organized with nearby town councils, started from the bus station of Torroella de Montgrí and ended at the infrastructure itself.
The protest comes at a time of clash between two criteria regarding the future of the stretch. While the complete elimination of the weir has been proposed to favor the natural continuity of the river flow, the entity and the surrounding municipalities maintain that preserving it avoids losing an element that also fulfills environmental, social, and heritage functions.
The walk called for the weir to be repaired, not demolished
The event coincided with the first act of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the first environmental demonstration Salvem el Ter. This alignment gave the mobilization added symbolic value in an area where river management has been debated for decades.
Gent del Ter attributes the deterioration of the wall to accumulated wear and tear from the easterly storms of recent years. Faced with the option of removing the infrastructure, the entity proposes consolidating and repairing it to maintain its use and presence in the river landscape.
In its defense of the weir, the collective emphasizes that the structure helps maintain wetlands and serves as a refuge for fauna. It also links its conservation to the formation of habitats on sand islands, aquifer recharge, water control, and water reserves during drought periods.
The municipalities requested a study from the Museu de la Mediterrània in March
The position of Gent del Ter coincides with the steps taken by the town councils of Torroella de Montgrí, Gualta, and Ullà. In March, the three town councils formally agreed to request the Museu de la Mediterrània to carry out a technical study on the historical, heritage, social, and landscape importance of the Ullà and Gualta weir.
This request was made after the municipalities became aware of the possibility of an imminent demolition. The petition seeks to establish with technical criteria the weight of both the historical value of the infrastructure and the uses and effects that its defenders attribute to it in the immediate environment.
In addition to the heritage component, Gent del Ter maintains that the weir has an impact on the recreational use of the space and on flood regulation. The entity considers that the repair of the wall offers an alternative to complete demolition at a point where river conservation and local memory converge.
The municipal agreement of March asked the Museu de la Mediterrània for a study on the Ullà and Gualta weir after learning of the possibility of its imminent demolition.