While proposals that affect it are presented and the debate on the expansion of the El Prat airport continues, the Generalitat of Catalonia, through the Catalan Water Agency (ACA), plans to improve the state of the water in the lagoon of The Ricarda. With a budget of 100,085 euros, the public company has put out to tender the drafting of an environmental and functional restoration project for the enclave protected by its great environmental value.
The initiative is related to the previous expansion of the Barcelona aerodrome, which already limited La Ricarda at the beginning of this century. According to the ACA tender documentation, to which La Vanguardia has had access, part of the water in the pond comes from the airport. “The contribution is defined by the environmental impact declaration that was processed as a result of the expansion of this airport infrastructure,” the document states.
However, according to the aforementioned document, "it has been proven that the flow provided has not been sufficient to improve the ecological state of the body of water." That is why new planning is needed to guarantee sufficient liquid.
This action, whose project has just been opened to tender, is awaited by the El Prat de Llobregat City Council, which has been demanding for some time that the contribution of water to La Ricarda be increased to improve its health and warns that the current contributions are insufficient, which is producing a loss of biodiversity in space.
The Official State Gazette (BOE) of January 9, 2002 includes the environmental impact declaration of the previous expansion of El Prat. "The best solution will also be studied and justified to guarantee the artificial supply of water to the Ricarda lagoon and, for the purposes of water quality control, the corresponding monitoring system will be installed, or, where appropriate, purification, which guarantee the quality necessary for the maintenance of this lagoon,” said that document. During these two decades it is not that nothing has been done, but the actions carried out have been insufficient to maintain the good health of the natural heritage.
The project that is now out for tender has been on the Government's table for some time. The previous councilor for Climate Action, Teresa Jordà, presented in June last year the intention to expand the zone of special protection for birds (ZEPA) of the Baix Llobregat.
It was a response to the letter of formal notice from the European Commission which, under threat of sanction, warned that the Llobregat River delta is not sufficiently cared for. But in the documentation presented more than a year ago, the water from La Ricarda was also mentioned. One of the actions included was the “improvement of the quality of the water entering Remolar or Ricarda through the extraction of groundwater or the creation of green filters,” explained the document that was distributed to the press that attended the event.
But while the expansion of the SPA, which has generated controversy and opposition from some farmers and city councils, is still not defined, the improvement of the water in the La Ricarda lagoon has already been put out to public tender.
