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Another step forward has been taken towards building two new desalination plants in Torrevieja and Águilas, which together could supply up to 150 cubic hectometres of water per year.

 

The Confederación Hydrográfica del Segura (CHS) has now signed contracts to draw up the initial designs for both plants. The combined cost of this early planning stage is around €1.34 million including VAT.

 

The project is split into two parts. One covers a plant in Águilas, linked to the right bank canal, and the other covers a larger facility in Torrevieja, connected to the left bank canal of the transfer system.

 

The drafting work is expected to take about a year, although the CHS says this timeline could be extended due to environmental studies and public consultation before the project can move on to the bidding stage.

 

The Águilas plant will have the capacity to produce 50 cubic hectometres of desalinated water each year and will mainly supply the Region of Murcia. The Torrevieja plant will be twice the size, producing 100 cubic hectometres per year, and will supply Alicante province as well as the Campo de Cartagena.

 

According to the CHS, the main goal of both plants is to ease water shortages caused by reduced irrigation allocations from the Tajo Segura transfer and to reduce the heavy overuse of underground aquifers in connected areas.

 

Officials say the projects are an important step towards more secure and sustainable water supplies across the Segura basin.

 

The Águilas design contract has been awarded for €674,575, while the Torrevieja contract comes in at €669,286.10.

 

Most of the water produced in Águilas will be used to relieve pressure on severely overexploited aquifers across southern Murcia and nearby areas, including Sierra Espuña, the Guadalentín basins, Mazarrón and Águilas, with some water also reaching Bullas through swaps. The remaining supply will go directly to towns facing shortages, including parts of Almería and municipalities such as Lorca, Totana, Alhama and Librilla, with additional support planned for reservoirs like La Cierva through exchanges.

 

In Torrevieja, more than half of the plant’s output will be used to tackle water shortages in the Campo de Cartagena, La Pedrera and several zones of the Tajo Segura transfer system. Some of this will be supplied directly and some through water swaps. The rest will be used to recharge or replace water taken from overexploited aquifers in coastal and inland areas, including Cabo Roig, Torrevieja, Sierra de Cartagena and Campo de Cartagena.

 

Although the towns involved are confirmed, the exact locations of the two plants have not yet been finalised. The CHS says the Águilas facility must be built on the southern coast of the Region of Murcia, while the Torrevieja plant will be located on the coast near the La Pedrera reservoir.

 

The authority has also confirmed that the Torrevieja plant must connect to La Pedrera and that planners will study whether it can share infrastructure with the existing Torrevieja desalination plant. In Águilas, a possible connection to the current desalination facility there will also be assessed.

 

Images: CHS