Cervelló, Corbera and La Palma de Cervelló are the only three municipalities that are part of the Metropolitan Area of ??Barcelona (AMB) that exceed the limit of 230 liters per inhabitant per day set by the Generalitat of Catalonia in the current exceptional situation due to drought. They don’t do it because of the lack of responsibility of their neighbors.
The reason is leaks and problems in their supply networks. They have a complex orography because they are located in the mountains and full of urbanizations. Full of single-family houses, several with swimming pools and gardens, they need many more kilometers of pipes to bring the most precious liquid to their homes. Furthermore, these systems are outdated and in need of renovation. Something that requires million-dollar investments that city councils alone cannot do.
“Our network is old and in poor condition,” acknowledges the acting mayor of Cervelló, José Ignacio Aparicio. Since the end of 2019, this Baix Llobregat town has plans to improve its water supply system. It requires an investment of approximately twelve million euros until the year 2044. But they have not started yet. There are several problems.
“Municipalities like ours cannot undertake investments like this,” laments the mayor. Cervelló has 9,307 inhabitants and a budget of 12.5 million per year, which, like all municipal accounts, goes far beyond investments and includes personnel, services… “As a City Council we have carried out specific actions and we are carrying out studies on regeneration of water”, says Aparicio. But they cannot cover structural investments alone.
In the case of Cervelló there is another stumbling block. The service management contract with Sorea ended, and they are currently in a situation of forced extension. Aparicio explains that the new tender is stuck because now “the competition is from the AMB.” “We need a new tender or for the service to pass to the metropolitan mixed company,” adds the acting mayor, who regrets that “four years have been lost” since their town had the study that is the roadmap for the actions to solve a problem that is prolonged in time.
In Cervelló, many of the houses and developments were built between 1950 and 1970, recalls the acting mayor. They were different times. “Before, it was possible to build in places where it would not be allowed now and materials were used that cannot be used now,” Aparicio describes. According to the AMB, there almost 90% of the network is over 30 years old and 30% may be over 50 years old. “Hopefully, with help from other administrations, the works do not have to take so long,” Aparicio says.
In Corbera de Llobregat, the situation is similar. “We have a network in poor condition, made with obsolete materials,” describes Lola Salmerón, acting Councilor for the Environment and Public Services. Salmerón laments the “negligence” of previous governments in “squeezing the concessionaire.” “Now the situation is dramatic,” she says.
Corbera has about 30 urbanizations. Salmerón evokes that some were carried out at times of “uncontrolled growth”, which makes things even more difficult because “approximately half are not received” and do not depend directly on the Consistory.
He calculates that the cost of fixing the leak situation in one of them can reach 1.5 million euros. Although he says that they have taken the problem “seriously”, it is difficult for the local administration of a municipality of 15,210 inhabitants to address it alone. They don’t have enough resources.
From Cervelló and Corbera it seems that the aid lines of the Generalitat of 70 million will be “insufficient” to supply all of Catalonia.
