On Wednesday 30th, the Mijas Town Council plenary session gave initial approval, with votes in favour from the government team and the support of Ciudadanos, to a budget amendment for an extraordinary loan to finance part of the water pipeline that will guarantee the supply to Mijas Pueblo.
- Deposito de Mijas Pueblo, en la cantera del Puerto.
This amendment, amounting to 4,250,000 euros (including VAT) and drawn from the council’s surplus of 55 million euros, will fund part of the construction work on this infrastructure, which will connect the El Puerto quarry reservoir in Mijas Pueblo to the so-called ‘water motorway’, specifically the El Lagarejo reservoir, bridging a height difference of over 400 metres at a total cost of 13.5 million euros across all phases, explained the councillor for Economy and Finance, Mario Bravo (PP), who was responsible for presenting the proposal. Of those 13.5 million, 5.6 million correspond to the first phase, which will involve the construction of the pipeline, thereby guaranteeing the water supply to Mijas Pueblo, which until now has been dependent on aquifers. “We believe it is our obligation because this is the section of the pipeline where the land is fully developed. The costs cannot be passed on to third parties, and we believe it is the Town Council’s duty to guarantee the water supply for all residents”, the councillor emphasised. These 4.25 million euros will cover part of the funding for the first phase, while the remainder, up to 5.6 million, will be borne by the land developers.
- Adelante con con los votos a favor del equipo de gobierno y el apoyo de Ciudadanos.
- Irene Pérez.
Reaction from the opposition
The opposition criticised the change in stance by the government team, claiming that they had previously argued that these works should be paid for by Acosol. They also criticised the fact that this project is being funded when other municipalities pay nothing for their water motorway. “Why should the people of Mijas have to pay for this out of their savings rather than Acosol? And another question we have is: why has the government team apparently changed its conviction that the funding also had to come from Acosol? Because right up until September, you were defending that position with great fanfare”, argued Roy Pérez, spokesperson for the PSOE, who voted against the measure. For his part, the Cs spokesperson, José Carlos Martín, recalled that, “when they raised the water rates, they argued it was to improve Mijas’ infrastructure”. “It turns out that not even two months have passed and now we have to pay a further four million euros on top of what we’ve already contributed through the price rise to improve the infrastructure of a jurisdiction that, however you [Mario Bravo] choose to spin it, is not ours”, he added.
- El PSOE, que votó en contra de la medida.
- Irene Pérez.
Distribution pipeline
The government team explained that while the Costa del Sol water motorway is a transmission pipeline managed by Acosol, the one to be built in Mijas is a distribution pipeline, funded not by Acosol but through the water levy, the works for which were approved by the previous government team and partially amended by the current one. “It is absolutely essential to have this amount available as soon as possible for phase one, because with the water levy, which generates an annual income of 900,000 euros, it would take us several years to accumulate the funds needed to carry out this vital project. It is vital that this Town Hall, using the surplus funds at its disposal, puts this money on the table so that we can carry out this very important project as soon as possible”, explained the councillor for Infrastructure and Works, Juan José Torres Trella (PP), referring to the depletion of the aquifers. In this regard, Bravo had previously clarified that the Regional Government of Andalusia “is beginning to ban the permanent use of aquifers and prefers them to be reserved solely for emergency situations”. The councillor for Works also revealed that the pipeline construction project has already been approved by the Local Government Board and that the remaining phases will serve to “increase the flow rate and the filling capacity” of the Mijas Pueblo reservoir.
- En el centro, el concejal de Obras e Infraestructuras, Juan José Torres Trella.
- Irene Pérez.
The mayoress of Mijas, Ana Mata (PP), before proceeding to the vote, invited the opposition to table an amendment to the management agreement with Acosol in the plenary session and clarified that in other municipalities not all water is managed by the public water company; there are also private companies involved. “We can amend the management agreement we have with Acosol. You are welcome to table a proposal for an amendment, but, as the councillor has rightly pointed out, 900,000 euros are allocated annually to our municipality’s water infrastructure. There is infrastructure that is not just obsolete, but simply does not exist, and we have a responsibility to ensure that all services reach the people of Mijas under the same conditions”, said the mayoress, adding that they must stay one step ahead of “the changes caused by water loss from the aquifers and, above all, modernise all the infrastructure in our municipality”.
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