| Home Turf: Parque La Marjal

Born from a Problem… Built for a Solution

On our latest outing with the Mediterranean Garden Society (Costa Blanca branch), we swapped our sunhats for thinking caps and took a guided tour of Parque La Marjal, nestled in San Juan playa, Alicante. But don’t be fooled by the calm walkways and families feeding ducks – this is not just a park. It’s a €3.5 million feat of urban engineering designed to do something extraordinary: save the city from floods and give the locals somewhere pleasant to stroll.

Completed in 2015, La Marjal was created to address a very specific problem: the destructive flash flooding that occasionally turns Alicante’s streets into rivers. You’ve probably seen it or lived it. A heavy rainfall that lasts a few hours and voilà! Underpasses become swimming pools and ground floors become aquariums.

But unlike Santa Pola or Gran Alacant, where even a “light drizzle” seems to prompt panic and blocked drains, San Juan decided to do something about it. The answer wasn’t just more pipes or bigger drains. It was La Marjal: a smart, multifunctional floodable park.

The project was financed and led by Aguas de Alicante (the local water company), in partnership with the city council. Rather than treating stormwater as a problem to flush away, the team asked: What if we worked with nature instead of against it?

The genius of La Marjal lies beneath its flower beds. At its core, the park is a 45,000m² basin that can collect up to 45 million litres of stormwater, equivalent to 18 Olympic-sized swimming pools. When it rains, water is diverted into the park’s artificial wetlands and ponds. This helps to prevent the overflowing of sewage systems and the flooding of nearby streets.

But don’t imagine a concrete reservoir. The park is landscaped beautifully with native and adapted plant species that not only tolerate waterlogging but thrive in it. There are birdwatching points, walking trails, and educational panels explaining the flora, fauna and hydraulic logic of the space.

The park also serves as a biodiversity hotspot, inviting birds, frogs, and even the occasional turtle to enjoy the watery haven. It’s a rare example of grey infrastructure made green – and a case study in sustainable urban design.

Now, let’s look a little closer to home. Anyone who lives near El Clot de Galvany or the lower parts of Gran Alacant knows the drill. A few hours of rain and bam! you’re either trapped in your home or wading across roundabouts with supermarket bags held above your head like offerings to the water gods.
Why? Because, unlike San Juan, our local authorities seem to have skipped the part where you plan for water. And yet, Santa Pola is no stranger to the risks. The town lies in a low-lying area with seasonal torrential rainfall. Local residents have been complaining for years about water damage, inaccessible roads, and poor drainage.

Let’s be honest: the council allowed development in flood-prone areas without investing in the kind of forward-thinking infrastructure that La Marjal represents. And each year, the consequences get wetter.
La Marjal shows us that it is possible to live with water, gracefully, safely, and even beautifully. It shows that investing in flood resilience doesn´t have to mean dull engineering projects that never see the light of day. It can mean parks. It can mean better air. It can mean more biodiversity and even a quiet picnic spot for a Sunday afternoon.

It also proves that public-private partnerships can work, especially when there is political will, community engagement, and smart planning behind the scenes.

So, dear Santa Pola Council: the blueprint exists. We’ve seen it. We’ve walked it. And we took notes. We’re not asking for miracles, we’re asking for more “Marjales”.

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