The growth of ecological flow requirements is expected to reduce shipments to Alicante, affected by the Tagus Hydrological Plan for the Segura basin. From 2027, annual allocations will decline from 70 to 110 hm3, with a gradual reduction already starting at 7 hm3. In 2026 and 2027, reductions will be 8 and 8.65 hm3 respectively.
To safeguard the region’s future, the Alicante province together with the Valencia Community Business Confederation (CEV) urges immediate action to soften negative effects. Proposed steps include activating Plan 0 evacuations and approving pending water resources from the Júcar-Vinalopó transfer, cutting groundwater extraction from Vinalopó-Alacantí, and advancing complementary studies for the Mutxamel desalination project.
Today a joint session of the CEV executive committee and the CEV Alicante board at MARQ presented an intervention package and offered attendees a chance to view the Xian Warriors Exhibition, underscoring the region’s commitment to practical solutions and cultural engagement.
The report, grounded in recent studies, calls for urgent actions by administrations in light of regulatory shifts and the overuse of the Tagus-Segura transfer alongside the Vinalopó-Alacantí aquifers.
0 spilled
Regarding Evacuation Plan 0, the Confederation emphasizes the need for investments that enable full water reuse. The target is to achieve complete reuse of treated water from plants serving the Alicante metropolitan area.
Upon completion of planned works, the volume discharged to the sea will be about 19.5 hm3 per year. This portion will undergo osmosis to achieve a conductivity level of 1,800 mS/cm2 with the associated rejection.
A Consell initiative aims to restore a system that ensures clear and efficient water-right allocations. It includes an additional 15 hm3 earmarked for those affected by reduced Tagus-Segura flow.
Transfer Júcar to Vinalopó
Progress on the Júcar-Vinalopó project involves finishing pending infrastructures and authorizing resources. On the left bank, after the transfer, groundwater extraction for irrigation would be replaced with surface water, and use rules within the Júcar system will be updated to accommodate this shift.
The Júcar-Vinalopó pipeline is designed to move 80 hm3 per year and carries a cost near €400 million. The Júcar Hydrographic Confederation (CHJ) has an agreement with the Vinalopó, l’Alacantí Central User Board, and the Marina Baixa Water Consortium to recover groundwater, with 34.1 hm3/year allocated from 2027 onward. The remaining streams, totaling 45.9 hm3, may be reassigned to other users within current constraints and future operating rules.
Entrepreneurs argue that CHJ should ensure these flows align with Segura reductions, particularly to irrigated areas along the Júcar border, leveraging infrastructures like Riegos de Levante. In line with government mandates, authorizations should be processed in the current planning cycle to meet user demands facing dwindling resources. Surpluses from Júcar to Segura could be transferred through the Marquesa dam using existing infrastructure.
20.5 hm3 shipment from Júcar will save 65,000 hectares of crops from drought in Alicante
Business leaders urge CHJ to align these flows with Tagus-Segura reductions and ensure they reach the irrigated zones along the Júcar border, taking advantage of existing systems. The aim is to reuse Surpluses of Júcar al Segura by channeling them through the Marquesa dam when possible to supplement local needs.
Consell requests Government to repair the San Diego de Villena raft to improve Júcar’s transfer
The San Diego reservoir requires leak repairs and additional investments. The Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has included the work in the Júcar Hydrological Plan at a cost of 43 million euros. This is a study not covered in the 2021–2027 planning cycle and will require regulation to permit the volumes of the Júcar-Vinalopó transfer allocated to the Vinalopó-Alacantí system, as noted by the CEV. Operational changes to Júcar-Vinalopó and relevant permits, along with photovoltaic pumping installations, are part of the plan to meet new user demands.
“I will always defend a liter of water drawn from the well for a liter of water from the Júcar-Vinalopó transfer”
Mutxamel desalination plant
The replacement of groundwater extraction from Vinalopó-Alacantí includes complementary works for the Mutxamel desalination plant. The aim is to connect Mutxamel to the municipalities of Campello and Mutxamel, reducing well extraction from overused aquifers supplying Mutxamel and El Campello. The project is expected to yield about 5.7 hm3 per year of additional water.
Key infrastructures involve regulatory and distribution work to supply potable water from the Mutxamel plant to Campello and Mutxamel, linking with the Rabasa-Amadorio pipeline currently in use.
Consell’s goal: to supply 20 hm3 of purified water to 30,000 hectares of cropland in Alicante
Plans include constructing roughly 26 km of pipelines with varying diameters, starting from the Mutxamel plant and delivering treated water to multiple reservoirs. Water will be pumped from the desalination plant to Mutxamel, with connections to the Llanos extension reservoir and the Salt reservoir, alongside new reservoirs at Del Collado to support delivery to farmers.
Consell will build 13 ponds to reuse 20 cubic meters of treated water released into the sea
The new route to Campello begins at a newly built Ramellat reservoir, using the existing pipelines with two pumping stations in series. A new reservoir is under construction at Xixí2, with an intermediate bed at Xixí 1. The Mutxamel IDAM outlet will regulate production to meet urban demands at a capacity of 40,000 m3.
Consell objects to the suspension of cutting Tagus-Segura due to vulnerability and socioeconomic damage
In Vega Baja, irrigation shortages threaten the region as Tagus-Segura flow declines. The area already reuses nearly all treated streams, limiting further gains from water treatment. Separately, the General Directorate of Water and the Ministry of Agriculture announced a €15 million project to reuse rainwater from Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa, creating new water sources for nearby farming communities. Nearby towns include Torremiguel, San Miguel de Salinas, and La Pedrera.
Government approves desalinated water subsidy after cutting Tagus-Segura
Business leaders view the subsidy as insufficient and call for additional measures to ensure stable, economically viable water resources for irrigation users. They advocate reconfiguring water concessions in Alicante, including potential revisions to the map of irrigation owners and concessionary rights to align with new resources and infrastructures, particularly around the Torrevieja desalination plant.
[citation attribution: regional authorities and stakeholders cited above are intended for informational purposes.]