Pessimism has set in in Parliament around political unity on measures against the drought. The consensus pursued by the three major parties – the PSC, ERC and Junts – could fail again. The reason is no longer the sanctioning regime on the councils, proposed by the Government in its decree, but the investments in infrastructures to improve the water utilization and supply network.
The Junts law proposal with the urgent measures to fight the lack of water that is being debated and voted on today in the Catalan Chamber could go ahead without, once again, a global agreement of the three parties, as a result of the their differences on investments.
The fact is that for the last few hours the debate has focused on this folder. The three parties have submitted amendments to the post-convergence rule detailing what, in their opinion, should be the infrastructures that the Catalan Executive should undertake in the short or medium term. Despite the fact that there are similarities between the three proposals, at first glance there are differences in the number of proposed infrastructures, the financial resources that must be allocated to them and the deadlines for executing them, with the socialists as the most demanding and the republicans as the most lax. Together also setting the investment plan and financial aid as a "red line".
If the distance is maintained on this issue, today the Parliament will only be able to conclude an agreement between the three groups regarding the sanctions regime. There is an understanding that the possible fines must be set aside as long as the municipalities show an express willingness to face the problems in the local network, present the respective anti-drought plans and do not violate the restrictions. But in the best case there will only be a partial agreement – without ERC – on investments.
In general, the three agree on the need to undertake infrastructure such as the expansion of the Tordera desalination plant or the Besòs water treatment plant, but the PSC is stricter in terms of deadlines. They also agree on the Foix desalination project, the splitting of the artery for the regeneration of the Besòs water and the adaptation and optimization of the Llobregat and Ter water treatment plants, but ERC does not see it as a priority commit investments for the Pous de les Estrelles (Sant Feliu de Llobregat) or the Sant Joan Despí water treatment plant, nor guarantee the treatment of underground water, as well as other measures that the PSC defends alone, such as the transfer of waste water from the Besòs basin to the Llobregat or the expansion of the El Prat regenerator. Thus, the socialists see "very complicated" an agreement in this area. They allege that their measures are part of the strategic projects (Perte) for the water cycle approved by the Government and that they would contribute 10,000 liters per second of additional flow in the water cycle of Catalonia (860 million liters per day).
In addition, the PSC denounces that the Republicans do not even count on the investments already agreed in this year's budget agreement and that from their amendments "it is clear" that the infrastructures would go to the account of the budgets of 2024.
Despite the socialist pessimism and the prudence of Junts, which was looking for "a powerful photo" of three that reflected what President Pere Aragonès could not achieve in the failed water summit a month ago, the Government was assured yesterday that the investments "shouldn't be a problem" and that "things are not going wrong or stuck", to the point that "it can end well".
