It has taken five days of hunger strike by four members of 'United for Water', a platform that demands a definitive solution to the water problems that 80,000 residents of the Cordoba regions of Los Pedroches and Guadiato have been suffering since April, to that the competent administrations sit down to talk around a table.
The meeting, in which “the brave ones” of Villanueva de Córdoba will also participate today, as the members of the platform are recognized, has been promoted by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, who was approaching yesterday late to the town hall of this town in the north of Córdoba to convince them to abandon their confinement and their strike. But for now, neither Paco Casero, nor Miguel Aparicio, nor María Eugenia Molero nor Pedro Vera plan to give up their efforts until a real agreement is crystallized.
And these regions have been suffering from supply problems for eight months, during which time they have been supplied by tanker trucks. It was in March when, as a consequence of the extreme drought that the region is suffering, the Sierra Boyera reservoir dried up, forcing people to resort to the waters of La Colada to drink, through an investment by the state government of 5 million euros to pump the liquid from area to area. A month later, in April, the Andalusian Government declared this water unfit for human consumption due to its high levels of total organic carbon.
After several calls for help, the president of the community, Juanma Moreno, signed on December 15 with Salvador Fuentes, president of the Provincial Council of Córdoba, an agreement valued at 15 million euros to guarantee the right to quality drinking water. in Los Pedroches and Guadiato, although the actions described on paper do not adjust to the needs of the area according to an important part of Córdoba society. It was that same day, last Friday, when “the brave ones” went on strike.
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, in favor of “the four abandoning the hunger strike and returning home to their families,” appeared yesterday in surprise in Villanueva de Córdoba to inquire about the demands of “the brave ” and commit to finding a solution and expediting the procedures. “He has committed to convening a dialogue table where all the administrations with powers in the serious problem of contaminated water intervene,” read a statement issued by the platform, while pointing out that the political representative had altered his agenda “to be able to be here as soon as possible, because there is nothing more important than the situation that four people are suffering who have had to put their lives at risk so that 80,000 citizens can once again have drinking water in their taps."
The Secretary of State, who was accompanied by the delegate of the Government in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, by the president of the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation (CHG), Samuel Moraleda, and by socialist mayors of Los Pedroches and Guadiato, has admitted that " This problem is not resolved with good words or media speeches, but by putting on the table the different solutions that each administration can provide, debating them and reaching agreements. This situation must be tackled from the beginning, because if not, in five or six years, the problem will not be serious, it will be irreversible.
For this reason, Morán has announced that his next action will be to "carry out an open call, as soon as possible, where the Ministry of Ecological Transition, the Junta de Andalucía, the Provincial Council of Córdoba, the affected town councils and the 'Unidos' platform are represented. for Water' and, from there, create an operational working group made up of less than 12 people. We will have to think about what is the quickest solution to ensure the return of drinking water, which will be provisional, but at the same time betting on a definitive structural solution".
For his part, the president of the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation, Samuel Moraleda, has pointed out that "all water can be made drinkable without 300 liters" of rain falling, "what we have to look at is whether the technology that is going to be used is the most appropriate, taking into account the state of the water, we also have to fight to ensure that contaminated water stops reaching La Colada, since it is much cheaper to purify it than to make it drinkable.
The Government delegate in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, for his part, has opted "to put aside political interests and put all his will into solving this serious problem through dialogue and commitment" and, in this sense and in statements this Wednesday to Canal Sur Televisión, he has advocated for "all competent administrations" to commit to "seeking that consensus, like the one reached in Doñana."
One of the members of the platform, and president of the Savia Foundation, has shown himself to be “hopeful” after Morán's mediation in the equation, although he has announced that he will not leave Huelva until “the call for that meeting is a reality. Only then, our efforts have not been in vain.”
The president of the group, Miguel Aparicio, and the vice president, Daría Romero, are also not planning to abandon the fight. "We are not asking for anything extraordinary, we just want to stop showering with our eyes closed and with our mouths clenched," explains Aparicio, reflecting on the population's fear of using water declared unsuitable, in clear reference to the fear among the population of using the contaminated water, which is already creating serious stress situations for citizens.
This problem directly and obviously affects the economic sector of the area, as Romero details. “That's why we need politicians to sit down once and for all and talk, face to face, and show empathy with those who are having a very bad time," he insists.
“The brave ones” have a whole legion accompanying them, supporting them and thanking them for the effort and determination they are showing to achieve an objective as laudable as guaranteeing access to water for the population. In fact, several rallies have been held to show their support in different municipalities of Los Pedroches.
Their requests are clear: a commitment on the part of the different competent administrations to provide a solution to the problem, to obtain quality water for the area, as well as for the connection between the Sierra Boyera and Puente Nuevo reservoirs and the future Zújar-Serena transfer ".
