Ibiza reuses only around 2.6% of treated wastewater

Ibiza, in Spain’s Balearic Islands, has a stark gap in its 2025 water figures: it reuses only around 2.6% of its treated wastewater, mainly for irrigation. A sustainability report presented by Ibiza & Formentera Preservation on 27 October 2026 shows that sewage treatment has improved sharply, but reuse has barely followed.

Cleaner water, little reuse

The amount of wastewater that did not receive adequate treatment fell from 3.93 million cubic metres in 2024 to 680,000 cubic metres in 2025 — a drop of about 83%. The report identifies the new Sa Coma treatment plant on Ibiza as one of the main reasons.

Mariano Juan, the island councillor responsible for land use, says the next challenge is to reuse more of that water. He points to seawater entering the sewage network and the need to improve water infrastructure. Elisa Langley, coordinator of the Sustainability Observatory, warns that without investment in reuse, treated water will keep going to sea while the island produces desalinated water at an increasing energy cost.

Gaps in the water network

There is another gap in Ibiza’s municipal supply networks. In 2025, 24.6% of the water entering them was not recorded as consumption. That figure includes leaks and water used without being registered, so it is not a measure of leaks alone.

Using unrecorded water as a guide, the island average sits just below the Balearic Water Management Plan’s current 25% limit for losses. Sant Josep and Santa Eulària, both on Ibiza, are above it. Only Sant Joan is below the plan’s 17% target for 2027.

The stakes extend beyond wastewater: desalination plants supplied 78.13% of the water in Ibiza’s municipal networks in 2025, and the process uses substantial energy. Despite the increased supply of desalinated water, the report finds no significant improvement in the island’s groundwater.

Topics: Environment · Sant Llorenç des Cardassar

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com