Riells i Viabrea (Selva) is a municipality made up of several scattered areas and urbanizations that have grown over the years. However, the climate emergency has made the municipality increasingly vulnerable “to fire and water.” The main reason is that the municipality has housing estates that were built “in the middle of the forest” and now, with the climate emergency, it has posed a significant risk of fire. In addition, there are four streams that if it rains a lot can overflow and cause flooding. For this reason, for the last five years the council has charged an annual fee of 18 euros to maintain the perimeter strips and clean the streams each year.
The mayor recalls that they are “at the foot of the hills” and that means that “when it rains higher up, we drink the water ourselves.” In addition, Josep Maria Bagot recalls that when the municipal housing developments began to be built years ago, they were done “in the middle of the forest” and this means that many houses have been surrounded by nature. Although until now it did not imply any danger, with the climate emergency the vulnerability of Riells and Viabrea increases.
Given the vulnerability of the municipality due to the weather situation, five years ago the council decided to launch a rate in which each home pays 18 euros a year to clean the riverbeds and perimeter strips. “There are those who do it every two or three years and others who don’t even do it,” says the mayor, “but for us it is a security issue that affects the entire municipality.”
In fact, Bagot recalled that if there were a fire, there are many cases in which the flames can penetrate beyond the plots that are on the edge of the housing estates due to the continuity that exists in the wooded area. The fact that each property has a part of the garden and that, in addition, there are green areas with trees distributed, means that the flames can spread quickly if the perimeter strips are not taken care of.
The mayor has detailed that the residents “understand it” and that is why they accepted the new municipal tax. With this money, the council has the margin to clean the perimeter strips and streams every year and reduce the impact on homes in the event of fire or flooding. In addition, this means of income allows these actions to be carried out without mortgaging the financial budget. “There are priorities and one of them is security,” says Bagot.
