Toledo, (EFE) of the regional and municipal elections and in a context of drought that affects the entire country.
Comunitat Valenciana, Región de Murcia, Andalucía and Castilla-La Mancha are the communities involved in this issue, which has returned to the spotlight after the Tagus basin plan has set ecological flows for this river for the first time, in compliance with various judgments of the Supreme Court, the European Water Framework Directive and the Water Law.
In practice, this translates into a reduction in the contributions of the Tagus to the Segura basin through the transfer channel.
The ecological flow, up to 8.6 cubic meters per second in 2027
The text in question states that the Tagus must have an ecological flow as it passes through Aranjuez (Community of Madrid) of 7 cubic meters per second in 2023, while in 2026 it will rise to 8 cubic meters and in 2027, to 8.6.
This measurement point is located downstream from where the aqueduct collects the water to take to the Segura basin, so it can be deduced that if there should be more flow downstream of the diversion, it cannot be withdrawn upstream in times of scarcity, like the current one.
The two positions – in favor of and against the transfer – are defended both in the pre-election meetings and in the courts and, in fact, all the governments of the autonomous communities involved have presented the corresponding appeals before the Supreme Court defending their positions, positioning themselves in favor of the royal decree in the case of Castilla-La Mancha, or requesting its repeal and the immediate suspension of its application, in the case of the rest.
Castilla-La Mancha, from river conservation to the National Water Plan
In Castilla-La Mancha, the regional government of the socialist Emiliano García-Page has repeatedly called for a reduction in transfers for irrigation from the Levante in pursuit of the environmental conservation of the Tagus and to give priority to the ceding basin in the use of the water, although it opens up to the continuity of the transfer for human consumption and, therefore, this is the approach defended by the PSOE.
On the other hand, the regional PP does not close itself to maintaining the current contributions of water to the Levante and makes ugly the socialists who do not demand a National Water Plan from the central government, with which they seek to guarantee quality water and in quantity for all the territories .
For its part, Vox is in favor of the transfers and calls for the construction of more reservoirs to guarantee water for farmers and ranchers, while Ciudadanos asks that European regulations be respected and that decisions on water be adopted with technical criteria.
Murcia, desalination as an alternative to questioning the quality of desalinated water
Similar positions are defended in the Region of Murcia, where the issue of transfer is one of the trends in the electoral campaign.
On this occasion, the Murcian PSOE supports the position of the central government and warns of climate change that brings with it less water for irrigation, and at the same time tries to convince the electorate that desalination is the solution to less water being sent from the Block.
But the popular ones are against changing the water from the transfer to desalination due to the high energy cost and the poor quality of such water.
Vox, which was the party with the most votes in the last general elections in Murcia, is a staunch defender of the transfers and even the number 3 of his candidacy -which comes from the ranks of the PP- unearthed the idea of the transfer of the Ebro, which left the popular misplaced.
Valencian Community: confrontation between the Generalitat and the Provincial Council of Alicante
In the Valencian Community, the increase in the ecological flow is one of the centers of the political battle between the Generalitat of the socialist Ximo Puig and the Alicante Provincial Council of the popular Carlos Mazón, also rivals to the Consell on May 28, since the latter blames to the president of having bowed to the interests of Castilian La Mancha and the central government with his abstention in the vote of the National Water Council.
These two administrations have appealed, however, before the Supreme Court the Tagus Plan for this increase in flows, agreeing that it does not respond to a technical criterion since it does not improve the situation of the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula.
In the case of the Generalitat de Puig, backed by nine Alicante towns with a socialist sign, it is requested to temporarily suspend the ecological flows planned from 2026, and the popular ones calculate losses of 85 million euros and put 2,400 jobs at risk in Alicante Vega Baja region.
Andalusia, “arbitrary” cuts against works in desalination plants
In Andalusia, the issue of transfer becomes important in the province of Almería, since the water from the Tagus allows 23,000 hectares to be cultivated in the municipalities of Vera, Huércal-Overa and Cuevas del Almanzora, and supplies 150,000 people from Almería.
With these figures, the Junta de Andalucía and the Minister of Water, Carmen Crespo, from Almería, of the PP, defends these water contributions and denounces the “arbitrariness” of their cuts.
For their part, the Andalusian socialists emphasize that the central government complies with the Supreme Court rulings with the new Tagus plan and that, in addition, the Bajo Almanzora desalination plant, broken since 2012 due to a flood, is being repaired.
With these approaches and with a drought that leaves the fields and reservoirs thirsty, the parties will wage a new battle in the “water war” at the polls, in which the citizens will decide the winners with their votes.
By Cristina Serena Trujillo