The spokesman for the Mesa del Agua de Almería, José Antonio Fernández Maldonado, and the president of Aguas del Almanzora and also a representative of the Mesa del Agua, Fernando Rubio, participated in the meeting of the Círculo por el Agua, which represents the interests of irrigators from Alicante, Murcia and Almería, which took place in the capital of Murcia.
At this meeting, all the organisations of the Circle for Water have decided to support the demands of the Irrigation Communities of the Central Union of Irrigators of the Tagus-Segura Aqueduct agreed at the General Assembly of the Corporation. And, among other issues, they have pointed out that the hydrographic planning of the Tagus is being carried out without technical rigour, and that it is being decided in political bodies.
Regardless of the future use of the water, losing a drop «to which we have a right just because we are Spanish citizens», reiterated the spokespersons of the Circle for Water, «is to take away the future of the entire Levantine society, from Alicante to Almeria».
For all these reasons, they have announced their decision to «unquestionably and decisively support the demonstrations of the agricultural associations called for 16 February in Murcia and 20 February in Madrid».
The Circle for Water wanted to thank the Directorate General for the Environment for the efforts it is making to make progress in the use of desalinated water, which is currently prohibitive. The Assembly has decided to move forward, immediately, in negotiations with the Ministry for Ecological Transition to find mechanisms to ensure a lower cost than that offered by the Ministry and, at the same time, to ensure a feasible use of this resource beyond the immediate scenario of 2025, proposed by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
It should be remembered that the Circle for Water was formed in January 2017 with the participation of the Pro-Water Forum of Alicante, the Water Board of the Region of Murcia and the Water Board of Almeria. Among its aims are to promote research and the incorporation of new technologies to achieve a more efficient and productive use of water and to promote comprehensive, sustainable and fair solutions in terms of the quality and quantity of water in the country.