The Fifth Social Water Summit warned on Sunday that the drought is not over in Catalonia and criticized the government’s plans to deal with it. According to Aigua és Vida spokesperson, Dante Maschio, the Catalan executive “is only focused on finding ways to have more water, instead of promoting savings and reducing consumption.”
The Catalonia Social Water Summit is an initiative that brings together social and environmental movements from all over Catalonia in defense of water and serves to debate and develop common strategies.
Maschio demanded “more transparency” from the government to know how infrastructure will be financed to deal with the drought and what environmental impacts it will have.
The entities gathered this Sunday in El Prat de Llobregat (Barcelona) regretted that the work is accelerating “outside the emergency phase” and that sanctions are being lifted for non-compliance with restrictions. Maschio also criticized the “conflict of interest” of the new top government officials who manage water.
“The water shortage is becoming chronic and is not being addressed properly by the government,” said the spokesperson for Aigua és Vida, who called for “reformulating” the management model and policies regarding water supply. water. “The government’s plan talks about 270 new hm3 by 2031, but it does not specify anything on how the infrastructure will be financed or on its impact,” Maschio stressed.
Environmentalists have requested that projects be processed according to current hydrological planning. “We cannot continue to plan as if we were in an emergency situation,” said the spokesperson for Aigua és Vida, who was “concerned” by the fact that certain infrastructures such as the factories of desalination, which should only be used in emergency contexts, are being used. used in case of emergency on a permanent basis.
“Climate change forces us to fundamentally change the water management model in Catalonia. The water cycle has changed and we must prepare for what is to come,” emphasized the spokesperson for Aigua és Vida.
The meeting takes place in a context where the Government is developing a set of public works to strengthen water supply during periods of drought in Catalonia. The Illa Executive incorporated a new desalination plant for the northern area of the Costa Brava, as well as accelerating improvements to water treatment plants and other hydraulic infrastructure. All this with an investment of 2,000 million euros, half of which corresponds to projects designed during the previous mandate.
At the same time, the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB) will put to a vote next Tuesday the update of the tariffs for the water supply service of the Catalan capital and 22 other municipalities. Barring any last minute surprises, the increase will be 6% compared to 2024, which would represent the third consecutive year of increases.
