The lack of water that plagues Catalonia continues without respite. Just one day after the General Community of Regants dels Canals d’Urgell closed the gates of its main channel, the president of the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation, MarÃa Dolores Pascual, has proposed to the Governing Board of this body the declaration of “exceptional situation” for the Segre basin given the “extraordinary drought” it suffers.
Before the media gathered at his headquarters in Zaragoza, Pascual confirmed that the lack of rain has made the current situation of the rivers look more like the summer period than the spring period, and that it is unlikely that it will rain enough in the month of May, so a “complicated summer” has already advanced.
“It is intended that the system remains open to incorporate other territorial units as the situation worsens and becomes an emergency situation,” he clarified about the measure adopted for the Segre.
Among the territories that have more ballots given the current difficult situation they are going through, he cited the Ebro and Lower Ebro Axis, the Aragón and Arba basins or the Iregua basin, in La Rioja.
Later, depending on the evolution, he did not rule out the incorporation of others that are going through an “even less serious” situation such as the Alto Aragón, the Aragón and Catalunya Canal or the Huerva basin.
“Decisions will be adopted progressively, guaranteeing the supply, ecological flows and coordination with users and authorities,” he added.
In practice, the inclusion in this declaration translates into greater legal coverage to apply restrictive measures, more support for those affected -mainly irrigation- to process and receive aid from the public administration and the creation of a permanent commission, a body that is “more agile” when it comes to monitoring the situation and making decisions.
Regarding the situation in the Urgell canal, Pascual assured that the decisions made in recent months have been “correct and sensible” and that work has been done responsibly to guarantee supplies.
Of course, he ruled out that the CHE is going to adopt a regulatory provision that forces the adoption of restrictions in the municipalities that the canal supplies, leaving these decisions in the hands of the irrigation community.
“Yes, we ask those responsible for responsibility so that non-priority uses are restricted and, together, we achieve greater guarantees for supplies,” he added.
Pascual insisted that the basin has sufficient regulation infrastructure to guarantee the supply, beyond the problems that may appear in some localities that do not have access to these networks and depend exclusively on wells or springs, to which help will be provided. the time has come.
