Segura
Encyclopedia
Segura is a medium-sized river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
in southeastern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
It starts at Santiago Pontones (province of Jaén), passes Calasparra
Calasparra
Calasparra is a municipality in the autonomous community of Murcia, Spain.- Geography :Calasparra has an area of 193 km² and a population of 9,700 . Between 2004 and 2006 more than 2,000 British immigrants bought new homes off-plan, built on 3 new urbanisations sateliting the town, with more...
, Cieza
Cieza, Murcia
Cieza is a town and municipality in Spain, in the autonomous community of Murcia. It is the capital of the Vega Alta comarca, an old form of provincial subdivision). Its current population is around 40,000...
, Murcia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
, Beniaján
Beniaján
Beniaján is a village located in the Region of Murcia , beside the mountains that close the Valley of Segura. It has a population of around 11,000 inhabitants, and is not far to the community's capital, Murcia....
, Orihuela
Orihuela
Orihuela is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 32,472 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006...
, Rojales
Rojales
Rojales is a village in the province of Alicante and autonomous community of Valencia, Spain.-References:...
and ends in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
near Guardamar del Segura
Guardamar del Segura
Guardamar del Segura or briefly Guardamar is a municipality of the province of Alicante located at the mouth of the river Segura in southern Valencia , Spain...
in the province of Alicante. Some of its tributaries are the Mundo
Mundo River
Mundo is a river in south-eastern Spain. It flows into the river Segura near Hellín....
(which starts near Riópar
Riópar
Riópar is a municipality in Albacete, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It has a population of 1,498....
), the Alhárabe (which starts in Moratalla
Moratalla, Murcia
Moratalla is a small town and the center of a large municipality of the same name in the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia in southeastern Spain...
), the Mula and the Guadalentín.
The Segura is usually in a state of semi-permanent drought, however, now and then, it does occasionally flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
as the consequence of the torrential rains which typically take place once every 6–9 years approximately, always in Autumn.
| Place | Discharge |
|---|---|
| Cenajo | 17,1 m³/s |
| Cieza | 26,3 m³/s |
| Orihuela | 5 m³/s |
| Guardamar del Segura | 1 m³/s |
In the twentieth century significant flooding occurred in 1946, 1948, 1973, 1982, 1987 and 1989. Since 1990 the lower reaches of the river have been canalized, removing meanders and hence improving the evacuation of flood waters. The new canal was put to the test in September 1997 and October 2000 when heavy rainfall resulted in significant runoff.
| Date | Murcia | Orihuela |
|---|---|---|
| October, 1651 | 1.700 m³/s | |
| October, 1834 | 1.000 m³/s | |
| October, 1879 | 1.890 m³/s | 2.000 m³/s |
| April, 1946 | 1.187 m³/s | 1.138 m³/s |
| October, 1948 | 934 m³/s | 1.172 m³/s |
| November, 1987 | 1.000 m³/s |
The alluvial plain
Alluvial plain
An alluvial plain is a relatively flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms...
is called the Vega del Segura and is a very productive agricultural region growing a wide variety of fruit, vegetables and flowers. The Vegas are divided into three areas: Alta, Media and Baja (upper, medium, and lower).
The Segura is one of the most polluted rivers in Europe. However, in recent years extensive water management techniques and the implementation of waste water treatment plants have greatly improved the situation. What must be considered is that the mean discharge is around 2 to 3 m³/s in Murcia city making it very difficult to dilute illegal pollutant
Pollutant
A pollutant is a waste material that pollutes air, water or soil, and is the cause of pollution.Three factors determine the severity of a pollutant: its chemical nature, its concentration and its persistence. Some pollutants are biodegradable and therefore will not persist in the environment in the...
s.