The acting regional government considers that the Ministry for Ecological Transition acts in a non-transparent and “arbitrary” manner when determining the shipment of flows from the Tagus to Segura for irrigation, for which it refers to the cuts that are applied almost systematically to the transfers in Level 3, in which a maximum of 20 hectometres per month is allowed. In this sense, the General Director of Water, José Sandoval, has requested in writing the General Director of Water of the Ministry, Teodoro Estrela, to send him every month the technical information that supposedly justifies such cuts in application of the exploitation rules, in especially that of the Tagus Confederation, to monitor the situation of the headwater reservoirs, Entrepeñas and Buendía.
“mere rhetoric”
«The permanent monitoring of the situation of the headwaters of the Tagus and the situation of the Transfer is, for obvious reasons, of the greatest interest to the Autonomous Community of Murcia. This continuous monitoring allows us to know the situation at any given moment, its trends, its risks and its possibilities of supplying the different uses, both immediate and in the short and medium term,” Sandoval told Estrela. He stresses that the Ministry “currently does not have real knowledge of the risks assumed, and repeatedly alludes in its resolutions to what it calls ‘principles of prevention and precaution that should govern the actions of public administrations’, which are mere rhetoric”. Sandoval maintains that at the moment, for Level 3, decisions are being made “arbitrarily”, without following the recommendations of the Exploitation Commission, and without real knowledge of their scope to reduce supply risks.”
The regional government complains that shipments to the Guadiana “do not have any regulatory framework” and are discretionary
It also criticizes that the transfers from the Tagus to the Guadiana basin that have been carried out recently “are being carried out with a discretionary distribution, without any regulatory framework or exploitation rule that protects it, unless this Community has news, since mere request of a party”. In this sense, he asks the high official of the Ministry to explain the legal bases that support the transfers of the last months. Sandoval also reproaches the Ministry for deciding transfers when the month is already well advanced and for making flow predictions late.
Another drop in bookings
The reservoirs of the Segura basin are at 26.7% of their capacity, according to the Segura Hydrographic Confederation. Thus, the reserves have decreased by 13 hectometres compared to last week, with the El Cenajo reservoir as the one that stores the most water, with 103 hectometres (24% of its capacity).
#Ministry #believes #transfers #cut #whim #demands #situation #Tagus