ISSUE NO. 1591
EWN
31 Dec 2015 - 6 Jan 2016
COSTA BLANCA SOUTH
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
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Torrevieja water will save the day for all Keith Williamson
DESALINATION plant to make up the shortfall
By Linda Hall The good news is that the New Year will bring mild weather and higher-than-normal temperatures. The bad news is that 2016 will be the third year of drought for Alicante Province and 2015 brought patchy rainfall that did little to improve the situation for the Vega Baja. Only the monsoon-like downpours of September and early November alleviated conditions for
the southern Costa Blanca. Nor does it help that this January could be the first time without a water transfer from the Tajo-Segura pipeline which has brought water from central Spain to Alicante and Murcia each month since 1979, transforming Vega Baja agriculture and guaranteeing the domestic supply. Now levels at the reservoirs that feed the pipeline are only slightly above the cut-off point for water transfers.
No-one need go without, however, because the shortfall will come from the Torrevieja desalination plant. This costs 10 times more than the Tajo-Segura water and the rise will be reflected in the tariffs paid by local
town halls which in turn will be passed on to consumers. Agricultural produce from the Vega Baja and neighbouring Murcia will also be affected by price rises, warned the Asaja agricultural union.
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