The Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, and the Councilor for Climate Action, David Mascort, have reached an agreement that gives the go-ahead to the transport of water in ships to Barcelona from the Sagunto desalination plant ( Camp de Morvedre ), in case the drought emergency worsens in the central region of Catalonia. The cost of the water would be paid by the Central Administration, while the transport by boat and the unloading connections at the port of Barcelona would be borne by the Catalan Government.
The measure could be activated from June and would allow at least one ship a day to be transported, loaded with around 20,000 cubic meters of water (20 million litres) if it does not rain at the required levels. Minister Ribera justified the agreement by saying that to deal with an extreme emergency "the simplest, clearest and most prepared option, both technically and administratively, is the Sagunto desalination plant". "We will work on the hypothesis of what is more at hand and is more intelligent to use", he said. In this way, Ribera ruled out a possible connection of the supply network of the Ebro in Tarragona with the network of the metropolitan area of Barcelona, as proposed by four professional associations and Foment del Treball, among other sectors , convinced that this interconnection is better. "We do not make hypothetical plans for other alternatives", he concluded.
Sagunto's infrastructure is now working at 10% of its potential. For this reason, to meet the needs of Catalonia, what will be done is to take advantage of all its capacities. The current drive from the plant to the port of Sagunto allows transporting only 7,200 m3 per day at most, so a new pipeline will be built to be able to bring up to 20,000 m3 per day to the ship.
The water would be unloaded at the port of Barcelona, where there is already a connection, and taken to the Aigües de Barcelona tanks for distribution. Two ships would intervene on these routes (one of which would unload the water and another would load it at the place of origin). For this reason, Mascort suggested that, in the case of an extreme emergency, perhaps a second supply point (a second desalination plant) should be sought. Loading a ship in Sagunto would take about 12 hours, which determines the pace of the loads.
The initial forecast is that this operation will be activated towards June, when a more advanced phase of the emergency could be entered if it does not rain. "The simplest solution is transport from Sagunto", reiterated the minister, who indicated that "we now have a few weeks" to prepare the devices in case this possibility finally needs to be resorted to.
"The Spanish Government will do what is necessary where necessary. And this applies to both Andalusia and Catalonia; we will accompany those who have problems to guarantee the supply of water to the citizens", emphasized the minister.
Councilor Mascort declared that desalinated water is an exceptional and non-structural measure that would be activated in case of urgent need to ensure the operation of "strategic facilities in the metropolitan area of Barcelona in the case of the most extreme emergency ". "We will have boats and (connection) facilities ready; we will go wherever necessary to look for water", he said.
The owner of Acció Climàtica agreed to reject the proposal to interconnect the Tarragona Water Consortium network (Ebre water) with the metropolitan network. In the same line of what he has defended in recent weeks, Mascort has stressed that it is a measure that is not necessary to guarantee supply in the metropolitan region of Barcelona, since putting it into operation would not be immediate. In this sense, he argued again that more than 55% of the water consumed by the metropolitan area are non-conventional resources, such as flows from desalination plants and the reuse of regenerated water from the Llobregat. He insisted that with the commissioning of more plants and infrastructures that produce water, such as the Tordera II desalination plant and the Foix plant, "there will be no need for any transfer to guarantee water in Barcelona".
"We have been looking at and analyzing which were the best options to give peace of mind to the residents of Barcelona and its area, and the easiest option technically and administratively is the Sagunto desalination plant", said the minister.
On the other hand, the central and regional administrations have agreed on the financing system for the Tordera II (Blanes) and Foix/Cubelles desalination plants, key infrastructures to deal with droughts, although it will take at least four years to become a reality . These infrastructures were already programmed in the two hydrological plans of Catalonia (2009-2015 and 2016-2021), but no effective steps were ever taken to make them a reality until recently.
The works on the desalination plants will be paid for with the Next Generation European funds, through credits from the State that will be returned by the Generalitat and that will lead to the recovery of costs, so that in the end they will be paid by the users in the receipt of the water they they pay the supply companies.
"In these hydraulic infrastructures, the principle of cost recovery will be applied, and in this case, also . From the beginning it has been considered in these terms, also for the two desalination plants in the interior basins of Andalusia in Almeria and Málaga", said the minister. "This cost recovery is already being put into practice in all the hydraulic infrastructures managed by the public company ATL", declared councilor David Mascort accepting the minister's proposal and philosophy.
The Tordera II desalination plant project will be tendered in April this year, work will begin in 2025 and end in 2028. Those in Foix/Cubelles would begin in 2026 and end in 2029. The new schedule for at the Tordera II desalination plant is a delay compared to the dates proposed last year by the Catalan Water Agency, a circumstance influenced by the new funding model established and the need to coordinate with the ministry .
The investments rise to 287 million euros in the case of Tordera II and 180 million in the case of Foix/Cubelles. And its capacity to produce water will be 60 hm3 and 30 hm3, respectively.
Even if the works are tendered by the state public company Acuamed, Mascort wanted to make it clear that the two desalination plants will be owned by the Generalitat and will be managed by the public company Aigües Ter Llobregat (ATL), as is the case with the two plants in service (Tordera I and Prat de Llobregat). ATL will be in charge of the monitoring, coordination and control of the works, and for this purpose an agreement will be signed between the administrations.
The procedures for the Tordera II desalination plant have already been initiated by the Generalitat. The project, the environmental impact statement and documentation of other previous procedures have been handed over to Acuamed so that it can start the bidding process for the works. On the other hand, with the new formula, financing is advanced four years in the case of the Cubelles/Foix desalination plant.
The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, assured yesterday that his Executive will provide the "maximum collaboration" in Catalonia and Andalusia in the fight against the drought. Since the beginning of the legislature, the central government has totaled 12,000 million euros in investments in the hydrographic basins, to promote the desalination and reuse of water and to improve the pipelines and regulatory infrastructures.
Foment del Treball has insisted on demanding "speed and agility" in the implementation of aid measures for the productive sectors affected by the drought. The Catalan employers' association demands that the Government give clear instructions so that industries that have to stop production due to the restrictions imposed can access ERTO and compensatory aid. It also demands that "essential services" be defined and that the subsidy lines be expanded to improve efficiency in the water cycle.
