Alert in the Valencian Community due to the “exceptional situation” due to extraordinary drought declared by the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation, where it has a territorial participation in surface area of ??almost 50%. The declaration is given by the data collected by the Automatic Hydrological Information System (SAIH), which already places this hydrological year 2023-2024 as “the driest of the last 33 years”, currently, with 115 mm of average precipitation accumulated by the 216 of the historical series.
“The hydrological forecasts are not favorable and the trend tells us of a situation of general water stress and, consequently, a foreseeable worsening in the short term during the next irrigation campaign. For this reason we have made the decision to declare the exceptional situation throughout the Demarcation,” commented Arancha Fidalgo, head of the Hydrological Planning Office (OPH) of the Confederation.
Although the CHJ does not speak of immediate restrictions, it does clarify that the possible limitations on irrigation for this agricultural campaign will be decided in the month of May. The announcement has not surprised farmers, who had already been adopting measures for months in areas such as Mijares-Plana in Castellón, where they were already watering for two days instead of three.
“We intuited that we would reach this decision, but we entered into a very negative dynamic because we do not have reservoir water and you realize the importance of making good reuse of the water,” says Carles Peris, general secretary of LA UNIÓ Llauradora i Ramadera.
Nor does it point to problems in urban shortages, although the entity does emphasize the importance of municipalities having an Emergency Plan against drought and the implementation of the measures included in it.
They ask them to monitor their source of resources that “allows them to identify and anticipate possible problems” and urge local administrations to carry out awareness and sensitization campaigns aimed at citizens to promote daily water savings.
Knowing the importance of these campaigns, the CHJ will hold an information day for city councils next Friday, April 12. And the impact is not the same for all areas. At the moment, as reflected in the Drought and Shortage Monitoring Report for the month of February, five territorial units are in a situation of prolonged drought (Mijares-Plana de Castellón, Palancia-Los Valles, Bajo Turia, Magro and Marina Alta), while three are in an emergency situation due to shortages (Palancia-Los Valles, Cenia Maestrazgo and Marina Alta) and four are on pre-alert for the same reason (Mijares-Plana de Castellón, Serpis, Marina Baja and Vinalopó- Alicante).
The CHJ extends across five regions: the first is the Valencian Community, with a territorial share in surface area of ??almost 50%, followed by the Community of Castilla-La Mancha, with 37.6%, Aragon with 12.6%, Catalunya with 0.20% and Murcia with 0.15%.
In a message that seeks to calm spirits, the head of the Office explains that “when the drought and scarcity indicators return to normal values, we will be able to abandon this situation of extraordinary drought. In systems with smaller reservoirs, recovery could come with an intense episode of rain; On the other hand, interannual regulation reservoirs would require continuous rainfall over time,” indicated the Head of the OPH.
Meanwhile, in this scenario, measures could be applied such as the exemption of the regulation fee and the water use fee for users who suffer restrictions, the execution of urgent infrastructural measures, as well as administrative measures to modify the conditions of use of the water. Hydraulic public domain: provisions, priority criteria, water origins, conditions of discharge authorizations or adaptation of hydroelectric uses.
