There is a “chronic deficit” of water in the Valencian Community that now has its own roadmap. This is how the Business Confederation of the Valencian Community (CEV) has presented the “Infrastructure Inventory for the socioeconomic development of the Valencian Community”, a detailed analysis of the priorities of the Valencian territory in terms of water that translate into 235 investments worth of 2,264 million euros, 1,186 million of which are required from the State.
The CEV presented the study this Monday to the head of the Consell, Carlos Mazón, who after a meeting with the employers’ association, in which the president of AVA-Asaja, Cristóbal Aguado, also participated; The president of Asaja Alicante, José Vicente Andreu, and other representatives of these entities, have endorsed the requests. “The Generalitat assumes that there has to be a calendar, programming, investment and therefore, that this map is necessary and urgent,” said Mazón.
The report establishes that an investment of 2,264 million euros is needed in water infrastructure for the socioeconomic development of the Valencian Community. Of that total, 1,186 million would have to be disbursed by the General State Administration and another 894.16 million by the Generalitat Valenciana. The remainder would correspond to local entities and promotion through individual users or user communities (Cuenca del Segura only).
Likewise, the main bulk of the investments would be allocated to irrigation (1,171 million euros) and another significant amount to supply (346 million euros). “For the first time we have a single document that measures Valencian water needs, which aims to establish a single calendar because it is a unique problem in the Valencian Community,” said the president of the CEV Water Commission, Jordi Azorín, who has avoided highlighting one infrastructure above the rest because “it is not about prioritizing some over others, since they correspond to various Administrations and we would be making a mistake.”
By basin, the CEV report distinguishes the need to invest up to 769.1 million euros in the Segura Hydrographic Confederation (CHS), where most of the investments would be allocated to irrigation (642.9 million euros). In the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation (CHJ), 1,494.86 million euros are budgeted, with several notable items, such as 528.44 million for irrigation as well as 250.21 million for sanitation and purification and another 263.36 million euros. for urban supply.
“Only between the province of Alicante and the region of Murcia, 15% of all the water that is reused in Europe is being reused; that is why we are accredited to claim these investments,” Mazón assured. “It is the Government of Spain that has to take a step forward if we do not want the desert to enter Europe through the Valencian Community, and through Murcia and Almería,” he added.
The head of the Consell has commented that he hopes that the opposition, as well as the State, will also be felt in the Water Table that is going to be formed. “It is essential that we squeeze every last drop of our effort; we must go through the filter of rigor, but the Water Table will be launched with or without the opposition and the State Administration will also be encouraged to take part, through the Ministry and the Confederations”, declared the president.
Regarding the study, Mazón has also assessed the decision of the government of the Community of Madrid to appeal the Tajo Hydrological Plan to the Supreme Court because it considers that there is a “boycott” of Madrid’s water supply. Mazón has come forward to ensure that “far from harming us, Madrid’s allegations benefit us because they speak of political flows on the part of the Ministry. There is not a single study that justifies these flows, and that is the problem we have. We are in the same situation.” ship, which is in the demand for rigor,” he said.
