For months now the Government has been repeating that transfers are not on the table as a solution to droughts. However
what the schools of engineers and economists of Catalonia is not exactly a transfer. It is about taking advantage of the existing mini-transfer from the Ebro to Tarragona to transport part of this water (which is not used) to Barcelona through a new pipe. Even so, the Government opposes to launch this project and commit to strengthen water resilience of the Metropolitan area with desalination and regeneration.
The Government prioritizes bringing water from other basins punctually by boat but with a new pipeline
“This idea is not in the Government’s solutions framework,” he assures. Anna Barnadassecretary of Acció Climàtica, in statements to the Catalan News Agency (ACN). Barnadas considers that internal basins must be resilient and adapt demand to supply. For this reason, he insists on promoting responsible consumption. “Taking water from other basins is not planned,” he continues. Barnadaswhich defends structural measures that allow new water to be produced.
Ships before pipes?
If the drought persists, the Government does not rule out measures such as transferring water to Barcelona, coming from other basins, but punctually and by boat. And why not do the same but with a new pipe? Barnadas responds: “If the structure is built, it will collect water until it is exhausted. It is not sustainable.” He states that this project, in the future, could mortgage the rivers.
In the last hours, Salvador Illa (PSC), leader of the opposition, has also opted for new infrastructures that allow more water to be regenerated, although he is hurrying the Government, since he considers that it is late in making the new investments a reality. Illa, in any case, thanks the professional associations for the proposal. Barnadas is also grateful that there are people who get to work to solve Catalonia’s problem with water reserves.
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For now, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition is not committed to this transport of water from Tarragona to Barcelona by pipe. Regarding transfers, the Government’s position is similar to that of the Generalitat. They consider that they are an old concept, from when there were surplus basins. The president of the CHE, in an interview with EL PERIÓDICO, maintained that there is plays planned for guarantee water in Barcelona: “A transfer is not on the table. If it were considered any specific actionit would depend on Government of Spainwho should determine if the scenario requires this measure.”
Environmental entities such as Water is Life wave Platform in Defense of l’Ebre They are against what the colleges of engineers and economists demand, and choose to preserve the independence of each basin, keeping as much water as possible in the natural course of the rivers. They also oppose farmers of the Ebro area. Ecologists who are experts in water management such as Narcís Pratin statements to EL PERIÓDICO, do not see the idea clear either: “It is a flight forward. Has no sense. What is reasonable is to recharge the Vallès wells with the Besòs treatment plant and enhance the regenerated water in this area.” Remember that this was proposed in the New Water Culture Foundation since the beginning of the 20th century, however the proposal did not materialize. In the last hours, the Catalan Association of Friends of the Water has positioned itself in favor of interconnecting distribution networks in a statement: “It seems good to us any solution that helps solve current problems effectively and technically feasiblesuch as the bidirectional network interconnection between the Consorci d’Aigües de Tarragona and the Ter-Llobregat entity”.