The Llosa de Cavall reservoir in Sant Llorenc de Morunys in Lleida is at 20% capacity. Albert García
There are words that have the potential to shake up an entire area. When you talk about a transfer in the Terres de l'Ebre you have to press the alarm button. The unanimity that arises throughout the Ebro Delta through the isolation of the river and its flow eludes neighborhoods, social classes or political affinities. The motto “lo riu és vida” (The river is life) has proven itself as a slogan that claims that the waters of the Ebro are the artery that pumps the heart of the southern regions of Catalonia. An area that carries a chronic feeling of sadness and that has raised its ears when it warned that a delivery of water would come from the Ebro to alleviate the restrictions that Barcelona and the metropolitan area are suffering.
The alarm in southern Catalonia was triggered by two specific events. First, the government's announcement that the mechanisms are being prepared to supply water to Barcelona by ships if the capital enters the emergency phase due to the drought. These ships would depart from Tarragona, where they would collect water from the Ebro or from other places in Spain such as Mallorca or Murcia. But the plan that is really causing a stir is the technical proposal put forward by several professional associations to create a physical connection between the Ebro basin and the Ter Llobregat basin, which supplies the Barcelona metropolitan area. It hasn't helped much that the engineers proposing this connection argue that it should only be used in emergencies and when there is maximum need. In the Ebro areas there are fears that this will be a permanent shift that will further decimate the delta area.
The Generalitat's delegate to the Terres de l'Ebre, Albert Salvadó, has attested that we are entering swampy terrain: “Relocating structures from one basin to another is not a solution.” The government, which is the Catalan Water Authority (ACA) controlled, has tried to make clear its intentions to address the water shortage. “The transfer (from the Ebro) is not up for debate,” spokeswoman Patrícia Plaja said on Tuesday, but left the door open for the Ebro water to reach Barcelona by boat.
“They show great irresponsibility towards the Terres de l'Ebre and in dealing with the drought. The Generalitat has a double message, trying to show kindness to the Terres de l'Ebre in terms of water management while restoring the old transfer policies. We are outraged,” said Manolo Tomàs, spokesman for the Platform for the Defense of Ebre (PDE).
Esquerra Republicana is the first communist force in the southern regions and occupies various mayoralties along the river, such as Amposta, Xerta, Tivenys, Flix, Benissanet, Vinebre or Miravet. The Terres de l'Ebre is a fertile breadbasket of votes for Esquerra, and Republican Party leaders believe there are issues that need to be handled carefully. One of them is the Correbou and another, undeniable, is the waters of the Ebro. Lluís Salvadó, current president of the Port of Barcelona and one of the people most trusted by Oriol Junqueras, president of the ERC, knows this well.
To minimize the impact that the diversion of water from the Ebro to Barcelona could have, the government is proposing the use of large cargo ships. The water would reach the port of Barcelona from the port of Tarragona under the direction of Saül Garreta, a position also appointed by Esquerra Republicana. “In this case, there was talk of water entering ships, but not of diversions,” admits the government spokesman.
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Climate Change Minister David Mascort said last month that “the easiest way” to meet Barcelona’s water needs was to get water from Tarragona. The resort to water supply by boats already took place during the 2008 drought. The government is now also defending it instead of guaranteeing the supply with a 70 kilometer long pipeline between Tarragona and Barcelona. The works, worth 300 million euros, are proposed by various engineering schools that are on the way to becoming a pioneer in drought management.
The Generalitat considers that providing the Ter Llobregat basin with a permanent and definitive connection with the Ebro means crossing a red line, which would have serious consequences for the image of the government and Esquerra in the south of Catalonia.
The precedent of the National Hydrological Plan (PHN), which the government of José María Aznar tried to promote with the support of Jordi Pujol's Convergència i Unió, continues to serve as a warning. This plan envisaged diverting water from the last stretch of the Ebro to Murcia and southern Spain, and caused massive popular opposition in the Terres de l'Ebre, while at the same time managing to gain many accomplices. According to the organizers, a demonstration against the PHN took place in Barcelona in March 2002, attended by 400,000 people. At the same time, another 40,000 people gathered in Zaragoza for the same reason.
The PHN marked a turning point for CiU and the PP in Terres de l'Ebre. Both parties were identified as those responsible for the plunder of the Ebro waters. Jordi Pujol later admitted that in 2000, when then Environment Minister Jaume Matas proposed a major diversion of the Ebro, he interpreted it as an opportunity: “I saw the open sky.” Pujol argued that the PHN “not only that “This could not only finally solve the water problem in the inland basins of Catalonia, but also give a boost to the development of the Terres de l'Ebre.” A prediction that never came true. “We didn’t know how to gauge the opposite reaction the plan would provoke. It wasn't a technical error. It was a political and psychological mistake,” the former Catalan president later admitted in one of his memoirs.
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