The president of the Sindicato Central de Regantes del Acueducto Tajo-Segura (Scrats), Lucas Jiménez, has valued the «unity of action» shown by the Government of Murcia, the Junta de Andalucía, the Diputación de Alicante and the Scrats itself when «coordinating» the four appeals that have been presented before the Supreme Court (TS) against the Royal Decree that involves a «drastic cut» to the aqueduct and that «is already causing negative effects».
Jiménez said that there is «a whole legal process» ahead that will last «no less than a year and a half, approximately» until the SC resolves the appeals. «Let’s see what happens,» wondered the president of the Scrats, who admitted that it is «very difficult» to win a contentious appeal against the State.
However, he warned that the State «has never done anything so clumsily wrong» because «they have managed to get even the Council of State to criticise their actions». «We all know that it is very complicated and we have a very important task of study and work ahead of us», according to Jiménez, who remarked that they have «every hope» and «the best of intentions».
«THERE IS NO PRECEDENT OF SUCH A SECTARIAN CENTRAL GOVERNMENT».
The president of the Scrats has made these statements at a press conference accompanied by the president of the Government of Murcia, Fernando López Miras, and the professor of History and Economic Institutions of the Department of Applied Economic Analysis and director of the Chair of Water at the University of Alicante and the Diputación de Alicante, Joaquín Melgarejo.
All of them have held a meeting in the Palace of San Esteban «to advance in the defence of the interests of the Region of Murcia, Alicante, Almeria and the whole of the Spanish Levante», according to López Miras, who said that there is no history of a similar appeal having been filed because «there has never been a central government so sectarian» and that «it has dared to cut 50% of the Tajo-Segura in a totally political, unilateral and ideological way».
He specified that the four appeals have been «coordinated» and «worked together with maximum technical and legal collaboration» so that the arguments of all of them are «in the same direction» and there is «no contradiction of any kind».
«We are aware, through the media, that the Generalitat Valenciana has presented another appeal with which we cannot disagree more because it is based on the assumption of assuming the first tranche of the cut in the Tagus-Segura,» according to López Miras. «For us, the aqueduct is something vital and, therefore, we cannot accept that it should be cut either too much or too little,» he said.
CALLS FOR THE PRECAUTIONARY SUSPENSION OF THE «CUTBACK».
López Miras has warned that, if the precautionary suspension of the «cut» of the transfer requested by his Executive does not take place, there will be «irreparable damage for the entire Region of Murcia, and especially in the planning of planting and harvesting in the coming months, because farmers cannot risk suffering new and greater losses than those they are already suffering».
He also stressed that this precautionary suspension «is necessary to avoid damage that is difficult to reverse from the first minute», as the cut «condemns us to ruin» and «affects the whole of society, not just agriculture».
He justified that «there is no overriding public interest that requires immediate application, but it is more than demonstrated that its application immediately generates serious economic and social damage in the Region of Murcia».
«IT IS ALREADY BEGINNING TO HAVE NEGATIVE EFFECTS».
Jiménez has reproached that the Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), Teresa Ribera, has incurred in a «political» planning in which «guidelines were marked». «As they used to say in the Middle Ages: there go laws, kings want it,» according to the president of Scrats, who recalled that the director general of MITECO even told them in a meeting that this decision was justified because «people want to see water» in the Tagus.
However, he warned that «not even this aesthetic issue is not going to be fulfilled» because «there is talk that, possibly, the increase of the Tagus as it passes through Toledo will be 2 millimetres».
As for the four appeals, Jiménez has justified that this increase of 1 m3 of ecological flow in the Tagus «is already beginning to cause negative effects for our economic, social and environmental fabric» although «they are not visible».
He praised the fact that the Government of Murcia, the Junta de Andalucía, the Diputación de Alicante and the Scrats itself have coordinated and «united their efforts» putting «all their human potential of technical and legal contributions», which has given «packaging and seriousness» to a matter «so important», showing a «fundamental unity of action».
LOSS OF 15,300 JOBS
For his part, Melgarejo stressed that the increase in ecological flows in the Tagus to 8.65 m3 per second in the planning area 2022-2027, will mean «a decrease in the transferred flows of 105 hm3, 27 of which would directly affect the decrease in supplies and 78 for irrigation».
This would leave 119 hm3 per year for irrigation, bearing in mind that the average for the last 44 years has been approximately 200 hm3 per year. «This means a lack of guarantees for irrigation with immediate repercussions such as a loss of 15.6% of the irrigated area (27,314 hectares),» he added.
It will also mean a drop in the value of assets of some 5,692 million euros and the loss of 15,300 jobs, to which should be added the economic benefits from personal income tax, social security and VAT.
The increase of 1 m3 per second of ecological flow in Aranjuez means the loss of 31.5 hm3 per year in the receiving basin, i.e. 28.5 hm3 after deducting 10% of the losses due to the transfer of water.
This increase of 1 m3 per second in Aranjuez «represents the loss of 5,600 hectares (ha) in the receiving basin; the loss of more than 88 million euros of production; the fall in the net margin of more than 29 million euros; the loss of Gross Value Added (GVA) of more than 297 million euros for the basin as a whole; as well as the loss of 5,900 jobs».
For the Region of Murcia, the increase of each m3 per second in the irrigation sector «would represent losses of 149 million euros per year»; as well as the «loss of 1,815 jobs». In terms of the effect on the economic sectors as a whole, 3,669 jobs would be lost; and it would mean the reduction of more than 185.3 million euros per year in terms of GVA.
With regard to the effect on supply, the increase of each m3 per second in Aranjuez would mean a 61% increase in tariffs (from 0.69 euros per m3 to 1.04 euros per m3) as a result of the increase in the need for desalinated water in the Mancomunidad de los Canales del Taibilla.
In terms of the three provinces (Murcia, Alicante and Almeria), the increase of each m3 per second in Aranjuez would mean the loss of 224 million euros per year and 2,967 jobs in the irrigation sector alone. As for the repercussions on the economic sectors as a whole, it would mean a fall of some 300 million euros per year in GVA and the disappearance of 6,819 jobs.
Finally, one hm3 of water that is no longer transferred has a potential economic repercussion of around 10.5 million euros in the three provinces and entails the disappearance of 207 jobs.