Menorca water management row over planned law change
Socialist MP Marc Pons accused Juan Manuel Lafuente, the Balearic Government’s Minister for the Sea and Water Cycle, of blocking greater Menorca water management powers on Monday, 24 August. Speaking on Menorca in the Balearic Islands, Pons criticised plans to repeal a clause that could have transferred executive water-resource duties to the Island Council of Menorca.
The Balearic Government has included the repeal of Article 13 of the Menorca Biosphere Reserve Law in its proposed Coastal Law. Pons said the move would remove the legal route towards island-level administration of wells, aquifers, concessions, irrigation and watercourses.
Dispute over transfer of powers
Pons rejected the Government’s position that Article 13 was merely declaratory because the transfer of responsibilities had not yet taken place. He described the planned repeal as a political choice that would centralise decision-making and leave Menorca waiting for any future transfer of powers alongside the other island councils.
He called on Lafuente to withdraw the proposal and asked Adolfo Vilafranca, president of the Island Council of Menorca, to clarify whether he supports the change and whether he argued for keeping the article.
Aquifer and desalination concerns
The MP said Menorca’s aquifers were in a critical condition and noted that Maó, Ciutadella, Sant Lluís and Es Mercadal had applied restrictions or water-saving measures during the current parliamentary term. He also alleged that the Government had not provided sufficient transparency on aquifer conditions or imposed the controls needed on water extraction and wells that breach the Hydrological Plan.
Pons further said the Ministry for the Sea and Water Cycle had yet to activate the dispensing point at the Ciutadella desalination plant for water tankers. He questioned the value of announcing a future desalination plant in the Levante area before a site has been confirmed, arguing that it would not address Menorca’s immediate water problems.
Topics: Sea & coast · Politics
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com