Last February, the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation decreed the EMERGENCY alarm due to drought in the Marina Alta region, based on the indicators established in the Special Drought Plan approved in 2023, within its Basin Hydrological Plan. Alert level that is still active.
The indicators used to determine the water situation are based on the accumulated rainfall in recent months, compared to previous years, or on the water levels in wells or the flow in rivers. All of this makes it possible to define the current state of the hydrographic demarcation in the face of drought, which varies between stages, from least to greatest severity, normal, pre-alert, alert and emergency.
In fact, in the month of December, the Confederation itself already decreed the PRE ALERT situation, and due to the absence of precipitation, the current EMERGENCY situation has ended up being decreed.
Xaló’s drinking water service is supplied exclusively from the wells owned by the Parcent Irrigation Community, and from where the water is transported to Xaló through two independent pipelines, one for the Solana area and the residential areas of Almazara and Valle Paraiso and the second for the urban area and the rest of the area. Each of them having more than 6000 meters in length. This system is shared with the neighboring towns of Alcalalí and Llíber.
In situations of drought, the municipal drinking water service has a reduced capacity to maneuver, since we do not have alternative sources of supply, and therefore the actions to be carried out in cases of lack of water practically focus on improving the management and improvement of existing hydraulic infrastructures.
The work for the commissioning of the new Les Murtes well, which was completed last year, will require the execution of a pipeline to transport the water to the Devesa reservoir, energy supply to be able to exploit the new well, investments valued at close to a million euros, and which we hope to carry out in the coming years, given the lack of financing capacity on the part of the city council for this type of large investments. Being a priority and strategic infrastructure for the Ayuntamiento.
Regarding the renewal of the drinking water network, the City Council wants to inform its neighbors of the work that has been carried out or is planned:
In 2021, the renewal of the Camino de la Fonteta del Pinçà network was carried out
In 2022, the renovation of the Camino Ladislao and Calle Mayor network was carried out
In 2022, remote reading meters were installed in all the users of the urbanizations and the disseminated area, as well as some streets in the south west of the urban area.
In 2023, a new pipeline was carried out in Almazara down from the deposit, while in the urban area the Plaza network was renovated, along with the beginning of Calle Alicante. In addition to carrying out actions to improve service pressures in the Cutes Altes area. Also, in 2023 the works to drill the Les Murtes well were completed.
In 2024, the renovations of the network of Calle Sant Judes and Calle Santa Ana and the part of Calle Alicante and Solana that were not renewed, the section between Camí Fondo Dos and Camí Corralet will be carried out.
And finally, also by 2024 we hope that, thanks to the aid requested from Europe’s recovery funds, we will have extra financing for the modernization and digitalization of water management.
In addition, and within ordinary maintenance work, expenses exceed more than €30,000 annually in purchasing materials and repairing breakdowns, to minimize water losses.
With all these actions, which have intensified in the first quarter of 2024, given the drought situation that we are suffering, we have managed to go from a consumption of close to 1,300 m3 per day, to the current less than 1,150 m3 per day, which represents a reduction of more than 150 m3, of 12%, a significant figure and more so taking into account that due to the existing climate, the demand for water is very high.
Maintenance work is also carried out on the upper network, the transport network that allows the collection of water from the Parcent Irrigators wells, specifically the surveillance carried out has made it possible to detect and repair leaks that represented losses close to 200 m3/ day. Highlighting the complexity of managing networks over 50 years old with routes that are very difficult to access. And they are currently in the planning phase for their renovation, after the City Council made a series of proposals to be able to take advantage of a budget item for the renewal of this network that was close to breaking point.
Still aware of the need to improve the service, at the end of 2023 a new rate for the drinking water service was presented, which had the unanimous support of the municipal plenary session, and which was based on an exhaustive economic study. This new rate proposes a progressive increase in consumption rates for the last two blocks, those with consumption greater than 41 and 56 m3 per quarter, which will have a rate increase of 20% and 25%, respectively. As a measure to record large consumption in favor of those who use water responsibly for exclusively domestic uses. In addition to incorporating a fixed fee of €6.00 per quarter to finance the investments that we need to continue making, it is estimated to allocate €50,000.00 each year for this concept against own funds, regardless of what is achieved through investments.
All this work that is being carried out did not stop, but rather intensified, given the climatological situation and the problems that the aquifers are manifesting. However, and despite the fact that all these efforts position us in a better situation, facing the more than foreseeable water problems in summer, if it does not rain, we will not be able to guarantee the water supply, and if this occurs, we would be obliged to restrict all non-basic uses of the drinking water service, penalizing and/or prohibiting the washing of vehicles, watering gardens and filling swimming pools.
These actions, if they occur, will be fully informed and communicated to all neighbors, so that they are aware of the situation.
We want to take advantage of this communication to ask all neighbors to make responsible and rational use of water, with the care that this valuable resource deserves, in these times of drought and in any other situation.
