Two deaths in one week in the same spot have set off alarm bells: why have two people, aged 20 and 30, drowned in the Fluvial Park of the river Túria, near Manises and Paterna? This area of the river has become one of the black spots for bathers in the last week and the causes have to do largely with the situation of the park after the dana.
Before the catastrophe, the website of the Parc del Túria already warned of the prohibition of bathing in some areas, although there is no strict control of access.
For example, in the file of the recreational area of Manises in 2024 there was already the prohibition: “Its waters are stored in several reservoirs and appear to be calm, but on the banks there is a lot of mud stagnating and various elements within the river, so bathing is totally prohibited in the whole area”.
However, the event has taken place a couple of kilometers from this point, where there was no explicit prohibition before the events. As a report by Levante-EMV points out, the limitations, depending on the land they affect, are managed by the Confederación Hidrógráfica del Júcar (CHJ), the Generalitat Valenciana and the town councils.
General recommendation: avoid bathing in the River Park of the Túria.
Many of the bathing areas of the Túria remain unusable after the passage of the dana, either by the accumulation of debris and mud, as well as the lack of cleanliness in its waters. The storm that affected Valencia has dragged dangerous objects and large sediments, in addition to generating slopes under the water and areas of strong currents and greater depth than before.
In Manises, in fact, work is still continuing between the city council and the CHJ to recover the riverbed as it passes through the town, by reconstructing the accesses, paths and cleaning the waters.
The reconstruction is progressing slowly for a dozen municipalities upstream as well and it is expected that until at least 2026 it will not provide the necessary safety for bathing in the entire Parc del Túria riverbed.
That is why there is a request from the municipalities to decree a ban on bathing in many areas before the arrival of summer by the competent authorities, as reported in this article in Levante-EMV. Something that is not feasible, being in the public domain and leaves the decision in the hands of bathers.