The rains are being irrelevant when it comes to feeding the water reserves. For this reason, the Government of the Generalitat has evaluated this Tuesday the drought situation in Catalonia in a new meeting of the interdepartmental drought commission (made up of various departments). At the meeting, it was proposed that the Consorci d’Aigües de Tarragona (CAT) unit, which is currently in the pre-alert situation, move to the alert scenario. This measure, however, will come into force when the resolution of the director of the ACA is published in the DOGC, scheduled for next week.
The Catalan Government has also stressed that the situation due to drought continues to be very serious in the region of Barcelona and Girona. The forecast indicates that despite the latest rains, “if consumption is not reduced, emergency entry could also occur at the end of summer and beginning of autumn”. The Agència de l’Aigua has explained for the first time that consumption means of water that are occurring are higher than what had been foreseen in the Drought Plan
The decision on the Tarragona area is taken as a result of the decrease in reserves of the Mequinença reservoir, which is the indicator set by the Sequera Special Plan (a roadmap established in January 2020) corresponding to the Catalan part of the Ebro (prepared by CHE) and, as a preventive measure, it has been decided that the CAT system enters the alert scenario. However, the demands for the coming months are guaranteed for the municipalities that are connected to the network of the Tarragona Water Consortium (CAT). The rest of the units remain unchanged.
With this change, of the 18 zones into which the territory of the internal basins of Catalonia is divided, three units are in a normal situation, one on pre-alert, three on alert and eleven exceptional. In this way, 495 municipalities remain in the state of exceptionality, 90 on alert, 2 on pre-alert and 43 in normality.
Although the latest rains have mainly allowed volumes to stabilize, the Government has reiterated that the situation is still “very serious” and that global consumption is still higher than usual.
Although there has been a slight increase in reserves, “if consumption is not reduced, the entry into an emergency could also occur at the end of summer and beginning of autumn, since the Drought Plan makes forecasts based on average consumption that They are below the water that is currently being used.â€
The alert scenario represents a step in the reduction of water in some uses: 25% of water for agricultural uses, 5% for industrial uses and the reduction of water for agricultural uses and recreational uses (5% in assimilable uses and 30% in irrigation).
Likewise, the irrigation of gardens and green areas is limited, the filling of ornamental funds, the cleaning of streets, the limitation on the filling of swimming pools, among others, is prohibited. There is also a reduction in the average water supply per inhabitant per day, which is now 250 liters per inhabitant per day.
The Government has also addressed the promotion of structural actions to increase the production of desalinated water in the coming years. The public company ATL has published the basic project and the environmental impact study for the construction of the new Foix desalination plant.
For its part, the expansion of the Tordera desalination plant, which has already passed the public information process and is in the process of obtaining a favorable environmental impact study, will allow, through an investment of more than 220 million euros, , quadruple its current production capacity, going from 20 to 80 hm3.
The new facilities will be set up on land adjacent to the current desalination plant. It is expected to be able to tender, during this summer, the execution of the expansion works of the plant.
As for the Foix desalination plant, it will be located in the Cubelles municipality, and will have a capacity to produce up to 20 hm3. With an investment of close to 150 million euros, the plant will be able to provide water for urban demands, both in the ATL area and in the Camp de Tarragona regions, depending on the needs of each area. It is expected that the works can be bid before the end of 2023.
These actions will make it possible to double the production capacity of the desalination plants, from the current 80 to 160 hm3 in a period of four years.
The completion of the water leak in Badalona is underway. Specifically, to this end, the project for the splitting of the Cardedeu artery that runs between the Ter plant and the Trinidad distribution center will be addressed (specifically section 4, since the other three have already been completed). It has already received final approval and the Government will declare the urgent occupation of the affected assets through Agreement GOV/50/2023, of March 7, 2023
It is expected that the tender notice will be published in a few weeks, in which a period of six months will be given for the submission of offers. This action, with an investment of more than 36 million euros, will make it possible from 2025 to have a new pipeline that will make it possible to repair the old pipeline that currently has a water leak near Badalona.
