The Civil Guard and the Water Police Station of the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederation (CHG) have certified that the Casa de Alba has put the illegal wells of Aljóbar, its farm next to Doñana in the Sevillian municipality of Aznalcázar, back into operation, which have already been sealed as an investigation for environmental crime is underway for their possible use for “ illegitimate irrigation.” Last May, the judge ordered the lifting of the blockade of these facilities, a decision that was opposed by the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office.
Sources in the case have confirmed to this newspaper this second incident with the wells, which has already been communicated to the head of the Court of Instruction 1 of Sanlúcar la Mayor that is processing the case and who must decide whether to take precautionary measures again against the eight unlicensed extractions that are spread across the property. The prosecutor accuses the company of the ducal house that manages these lands, Eurotécnica Agraria, of “illegal withdrawal of water”, a complaint – which is joined by another of disobedience for preventing access to Civil Guard lands – by the that Eugenia Martínez de Irujo is called to testify as under investigation. The Duchess of Montoro held the presidency of the company at the time the investigation began, a position that rotates among the members of the family.
The company – whose lawyer has declined to comment – assures that it never used the wells without a license and that it did not extract more water than it is authorized to do. Despite this, the prosecutor calculates that only in one agricultural campaign and in the middle of the drought he would have pumped 305,851.73 cubic meters (305 million liters) for “illegitimate irrigation”, 50% more than what he has been granted. This extra amount is economically quantified at 36,702.16 euros.
Investigation extended six more months
The judicial case attempts to determine the total irrigated surface area and existing crops in the last ten years, during which the reported wells were allegedly operational, as well as the minimum amount of water that may have been “illegally” withdrawn. The farm has authorization for a catchment with which to irrigate 200 hectares in which it grows gourmet oranges, and has also authorized another well for domestic use, as well as a pond to accumulate water and with a capacity for 305,000 cubic meters.
The judge recently extended the investigation by six months at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, which is preparing a report that could lead to new proceedings. When removing the judicial seal from the wells, the magistrate pointed out that it was not “appropriate” to maintain the precautionary measures considering that “it does not seem that their use or utilization poses a risk” to the aquifer. In parallel, and while these collections were unusable by court order, Eurotécnica Agraria has presented a project to regularize them that has the initial approval of the Confederation of the Guadalquivir.
This state body authorizes the changes in the irrigation system that the company wants to implement because it considers that it can improve the hydrodynamics of the aquifer from which it extracts the resources (Aljarafe Sur), which is in good condition and whose conservation does not pose a risk. this proposal. This statement was what led the magistrate to lift the precautionary measures without imposing any other restrictive measures, which in practice meant that the use or not of infrastructure that is not yet regularized was left in the hands of the property.
“They should not use the wells”
In fact, the only warning in this regard was made at that time by the Civil Guard, when removing the seals on May 23, as stated in its official letter: “The interested parties are informed that without having all the pertinent authorizations “They should not use unsealed wells.” In this sense, the agents of the Nature Protection Service (Seprona) They reminded Eurotécnica Agraria that its regularization proposal is still being processed and that the process has not been completed, which means that right now it is facing “a mere expectation of achieving a right that has not yet been consolidated.”
Although the Aljarafe Sur aquifer (from which Aljóbar obtains its resources, and which borders the masses of groundwater from which Doñana drinks) is officially declared in good conditiona report from the Guadalquivir Confederation carried out within the framework of the judicial case concluded that it is at the lowest levels since records exist. This is due to the “intensive exploitation” that it has suffered in recent years, although it also points out that “it is not possible to determine that the only cause” was the exploitation of the Casa de Alba.
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