The Spanish government invests more than €22.8 billion in measures for successful water management. In total, 6,500 measures have been put together that take maximum account of climate change and the chance of floods and drought.
On Tuesday, the Spanish Council of Ministers approved plans for water management in Spain through until 2027. The approval of these plans marks the end of a long process of modernising water management in Spain, taking into account climate change and the cycle of floods and major drought that Spain has been dealing with for years.
Who finances these far-reaching plans?
Of the total investment, €10.6 billion comes from the state treasury; €8.3 billion comes from the autonomous regional authorities; €2.3 billion from local funds and €1.5 billion from other financiers.
What is the money spent on?
The majority of the budget (€6.6 billion) is spent on improving and building new infrastructure. This includes the remediation and cleaning of the existing infrastructure. More than €5 billion is spent on irrigation and €2.2 billion on supplies. More than €2 billion will also be made available for water management in the event of flooding. €1.3 billion will be spent on restoring and managing the existing water storage facilities. The remaining amount will be set aside for studies and research to continuously improve water management in the coming years.
All Spaniards should always have access to water
One of the things included in the plans, which was previously hardly taken into account in water management in Spain, is the minimum and maximum values that rivers and lakes may contain. These values are necessary for maximum protection of water resources, ecosystems and territory.
The allocation for water consumption will also be reduced from 28,000 hm3 per year to 26,800 hm3 per year so that all citizens continue to have access to sufficient water throughout the year.
Spain is catching up in wastewater treatment
Another factor in the plans made is the water quality. By investing in sanitation and purification, Spain will improve in terms of water quality. Spain also has some catching up to do when it comes to wastewater management, which did not comply with European regulations in various areas. The new plans also focus on environmental restoration of various rivers in Spain.
All these plans, together with the flood risk management plans and the special drought management plans in Spain, represent the main measures that should enable successful water management in Spain to be achieved. The aim is to ensure that residents of Spain always have access to water, to respect the environment and to respond as well as possible to the challenges of today and the future.
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