The installation has been paralyzed by the rains, since the farmers have not needed to irrigate; the minister returns to the Region to explain her plan on the Mar Menor
The water pumping system of the Rambla del Albujón, designed to limit the entry of nutrients into the Mar Menor, will work again in the next few days, coinciding with the irrigation campaign in the Campo de Cartagena. The pumping has been paralyzed lately due to the intense rains, since the farmers have not needed water from any source for their fields, quite the contrary. The hydraulic capacity of the facilities has always been less than the flow that goes down the boulevard. In some cases, more than 1,200 liters per second have circulated, when pumping is around 200 litres.
The infrastructure of the Albujón has a provisional authorization so that the water loaded with salts and nitrates is diverted towards agriculture, specifically to the Post-Transvasation channels. For this operation to work, it must be mixed with water from the Tagus or from desalination plants, with a sufficient flow rate so that dilution is possible and salinity is reduced.
Visit of Teresa Ribera
This formula has been used for years to divert part of the nutrients that enter the lagoon. Since there is still no denitrifying plant with capacity, nor green filters, the Ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture chose to use irrigation as a ‘filter’, pending other works and actions, with the discrepancies that exist in this regard.
The irrigators of the Campo de Cartagena use the waters of the Albujón when they need them, and under normal circumstances there is usually continuous operation, except when the pipes break or it rains heavily, as has happened now. Farmers have to pay up to 16 cents per cubic meter for these flows -almost 50% more than what the Transfer water costs them-, and which represent a very small volume of their annual water needs.
With the resumption of irrigation, these days the pumping will be reactivated. Meanwhile, the Ministry provides for the partial renovation of the drive, with a budget of 1.2 million euros. It will coincide with a new visit by Minister Teresa Ribera, probably next week, to explain the development of her Priority Action Plan.
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