The mini-transfer from the Ebro to Tarragona, activated in 1989 due to the serious restrictions in the second metropolitan area of ??Catalonia, managed to contain water consumption in 2023 and not increase dependence on the Ebro River. To the point of allowing it to reach the depleted delta of the Ebro 18% of the water that by concession they had the right to spend in the consortium municipalities and industries.
By law, the mini-transfer can annually capture a maximum of 94.7 cubic hectometers (Hm³) in the channels of the Ebro River and distribute them through the network of the Consorci d’Aigües de Tarragona (CAT), the entity that manages the flow.
Last year, consumption stood at 77.7 Hm³, 82% of the maximum of the current concession. “That water that is not consumed is not captured from the river. “We collect from the Ebro based on the consumption we have and the needs of the consortia,” highlights Joan Alginet (ERC), the first republican and politician from the Terres de l’Ebre, in his case in addition to Deltebre, to preside over the CAT.
The concession allows a maximum volume of water collection from the Ebro of 4 m³ of water per second, also protected by the law approved in Congress in 1981. The annual average in 2023 was around 2.4 m³. “We do not have excess water, the municipalities have their real and reserve allocations, all the water is assigned to the municipalities and industries. We don’t have a catch-all with excess water that someone can take,” clarifies Alginet.
Without regenerated water by the industry, with large consumers such as petrochemical companies, 2023 would have been the year with the highest water consumption in the 34-year history of the mini-transfer.
The use of regenerated water amounted to 5.9 Hm³. It is still a small percentage, 7.5% of the total, but the industry’s plans point to a leap in a few years. Repsol has announced that it will go from the current 18% to 40% in 2027. In global figures, the chemical industry’s forecast is to double reuse.
“The industry, which consumes a lot of water, will consume less and less. The first challenge is to reuse, also the municipal wastewater treatment plants. All this will have a direct impact that will reduce the dependence on the Ebro of an entire province that has a large river 70 kilometers from the area of ??greatest consumption,” warns Alginet. “As an Ebrense, I am especially excited,” she adds.
The CAT requested the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation (CHE) to reduce its concession in 2019, which was then at 100.26 Hm³. The CHE gave the go-ahead. The CAT pays an annual fee for its concession, regardless of the actual flow consumption.
In the midst of the worst drought in history in Catalonia, with the imminent declaration of emergency in Barcelona, ??the region connected to the Ebro mini-transfer lives peacefully, with the supply of drinking water guaranteed. Yes, farmers and municipalities that are not connected to the CAT are having a very bad time.
The irrigators of the Ebro delta were left with half of the water in the last rice campaign. The CHE activated restrictions when Mequinensa, the reference for the mini-transfer, fell to 35%, the same as for the irrigators of the delta. The panorama is different now. The Aragonese reservoir is at 80% of its capacity and the forecasts are good.
