The drought has left Under minimum the swamp of Riudecanyes (Baix Camp). Due to the lack of water, the irrigation community demanded solutions to the Department of Climate Action so as not to leave no water to the trees from the area. One of the options presented to the Administration is quite striking: they propose empty the swamp completely to do an emergency irrigation that saves the hazelnuts.
According to the Catalan News Agency (ACN) and confirmed by EL PERIÓDICO, this is a possibility that is on the table of the ‘conselleria’, but it’s not the only one. It is yet to be decided what the final decision will be. The irrigators also demand to be able to irrigate with reclaimed water from the treatment plant and the water regeneration station of Reus.
Irrigators press to empty the swamp and use reclaimed water for emergency irrigation
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Both the use of water from the treatment plant and the emptying of the swamp are two measures that require a economic spending important because you have to pump the water. In the event that they were put into operation, who would pay for the works? At the moment, the Department does not give a precise answer. They assure that next week they will specify it.
The demands of the irrigators of Riudecanyes put back on the table entrenched conflict in recent years: the discrepancies between farmers and environmentalists for the transfer of siurana river. But what do the Siurana river, almost dry as it passes through Priorat, and the Riudecanyes reservoir have to do with it? These are four keys that explain the reason for the controversy.
He transfer of the Siurana river towards the Baix Camp region began in the 50 years. A part of the river water was sent to the swamp of Riudecanyeswhich is mainly supplied thanks to this connection, since the Riudecanyes stream rarely carries water. Last year, given the situation of drought, the Govern stopped the transfer because there was a risk that the priorat villages they will run out of water siurana reservoir it is also below minimums). In recent years, various environmental platforms have vindicated the importance of preserving a minimum flow for the river, an aspect in which some progress has been made.
The uses of the Riudecanyes reservoir not limited to agricultural irrigation. The water that farmers do not use is used to supply municipalities such as Reus either Riudoms or Selva del Camp. Now, farmers and some of the municipalities partially supplied by the swamp have asked to have reclaimed water for irrigation and other uses. Something that, according to ecologists, is late. “At least I would unlink the status of the reservations of Riudecanyes from the transfer of the battered siurana river“, says Andreu Escolamember of the GEPEC (Grup d’Estudi i Protecció dels Ecosistemes Catalans).
school It’s one of the referents of environmentalism in the southern regions of Catalonia. He has been fighting for years end the transfer of the Siurana river. In 2017 and 2018, she participated in the organization of two protest actions. In 2017, plugged with wood the drain through which the water deviated towards Riudecanyes. In 2018, they transported water with cubes from the transfer point to the Siurana river: “It was one metaphor to show that we wanted the water back into the river. It was a playful act, with boys and girls. I did not physically participate, but I did speak to the media as president of GEPEC, my position at the time.”
For these two actions, they ask 7 years in prisonhe. Tomorrow testify before the judge accused of diverting the course of the water, of usurpation of water and of occupation of private space, after a complaint from the Riudecanyes irrigation community, which they attribute to preventing the water from advancing towards this Baix Camp reservoir. The complainants also accuse Anaïs Estrems, another activist. “We will tell what we did, without further ado, it was only a protest gesture,” Escolà ditch.
He ultimate goal of ecologists and hundreds of neighbors of the Priorat is that the water of the Siurana river flow through the Siurana river and nothing else. It is a goal that is still far away, but with the judicialization of the conflict they have put the problem on the table. More and more people are aware that the Siurana swamp is dying not only because of the drought but because Some of the water has historically been derived towards Riudecanyes.
This transfer is one more of those that are in force in Catalonia. a part of the river ebro is transferred to the regions of Tarragona, and part of the water from the terless and less after the agreements of the Ter table, is sent to the metropolitan area of Barcelona.
In the water table held this Monday, entities such as the Platform in Defense of l’Ebre either water is life demanded to prioritize ecological flowsbefore discussing how water should be managed.