Water supply
Sections
Highlight
Sections
Highlight
The town of Valle de Abdalajís, with about 2,500 inhabitants, has the most expensive water supply in Spain. Since the town's aquifer was punctured during the construction of the tunnels of the Cordoba-Malaga high-speed line, it has been the state railway operator (Adif) that has been paying for and providing the supply of water via tanker trucks.
Adif has taken over the huge costs of this service: 15.7 million euros between 2021 and 2025, and around 30 million if we take previous years into account. This amount of money would have been more than enough to build a definitive infrastructure to guarantee a stable supply to the town. According to sources, Adif has been providing the municipality with some 450,000 litres per day worth more than 9,000 euros.
However, a ruling by the National High Court (Audiencia Nacional) has established that Adif should not be responsible for the service anymore. On the contrary, the court believes that the town hall should have assumed its competences earlier and paid for the provision of water, carried out maintenance work and found a definitive form of supply.
The National High Court's decision could therefore legally terminate a precautionary measure that was adopted following the town hall's complaint in 2021, which imposed an order on Adif to maintain the water supply to the town in tanker trucks. However, Adif will continue to manage the service for the time being, considering that the town hall is expected to lodge an appeal against the ruling, which means that no definitive decision could be taken until the appeal is examined.
15.7
million euros has been the cost of supplying water in tanker trucks to Valle de Abdalajís between 2021 and 2025 alone
Valle de Abdalajís mayor Virginia Romero described the ruling that exempts Adif from guaranteeing the water supply as "very unfair". According to her, the court ruling does not take into account the damage that the population has suffered for years without the proper infrastructure guaranteeing stable access to drinking water.
As for the future of the municipality, Romero said that the town hall does not have the human or financial resources necessary to undertake a project of this magnitude. "We depend on other institutions. If Adif does not reconsider its position, either the provincial authority, the regional or the central government will have to intervene," she stated. What is certain is that the provision of such a basic necessity like water should always be guaranteed.
While waiting for an institutional response, the mayor has requested meetings with different political leaders: from the provincial authority and the Junta to the sub-delegate of the central government in the province. One of her objectives is to have a meeting with Adif representatives and see if, together, they can find a common ground, avoiding legal proceedings.
"My goal is to continue negotiating, if that is still possible. It is neither fair nor reasonable that they leave us without water," said Romero. "The town hall does not have the means. It has to be another institution that steps forward."
It has been almost 20 years since the aquifer was punctured. During this time, Adif has carried out costly operations to create a stable supply, but some of them have not worked as expected. The state operator has carried out a project to supply drinking and irrigation water to different areas of the Sierra de Abdalajís, among other work. Together with the installation of a wastewater treatment plant, the upgrading of roads and even the recovery of the archaeological remains of a Roman villa, these actions have added up to another 26.6 million euros.
Publicidad
Publicidad
Publicidad
Publicidad
Esta funcionalidad es exclusiva para registrados.
Reporta un error en esta noticia
Comentar es una ventaja exclusiva para registrados
¿Ya eres registrado?
Inicia sesiónNecesitas ser suscriptor para poder votar.