Work has begun on the first dyke built specifically to protect the urban centre of San Fulgencio from flooding by the River Segura. The project, led by the Generalitat, represents an investment of almost three million euros and is expected to take eight months to complete.

The nearly one-kilometre-long embankment will stand four metres above sea level and is designed to shield the town from overflow from the old riverbed and surrounding irrigation channels. The scheme includes three internal retention basins, control chambers and a storm tank capable of holding 1,050 cubic metres of wastewater during heavy rain or in the event of treatment plant failure.

The plans were drawn up after the devastating floods of September 2019, when emergency earth banks protected the town centre but hundreds of hectares of farmland and major roads were submerged for weeks. The new system will allow water to be stored and later drained either by gravity or by mobile pumps, depending on external flood conditions.

The project requires the expropriation of 28 mainly agricultural plots, costing the Town Hall more than 700,000 euros. While some local business owners have raised concerns about possible impacts, officials say the scheme marks a significant step in long-delayed efforts to reduce flood risk in the Vega Baja.