We have started the year with meetings with representatives of the Generalitat Valenciana and the Junta de Andalucía to address the challenges of water management and the key role played by desalination and reuse in the sustainable use of water resources.
On 28 January we met with Vicente Martínez Mus, Minister for the Environment, Infrastructures and Territory of the Generalitat Valenciana, the region with the largest reused water flow in Spain and home to the country’s largest capacity desalination plant in Torrevieja (Alicante).
A few weeks later, on 13 February, we had a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development of the Regional Government of Andalusia, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco Monterreal, and his team. A community that also suffers significant water shortage problems.
We have offered them both the collaboration of AEDyR to help improve such a serious problem as the lack of water and we have explained the current situation of the sector, the challenges it faces and the solutions we can provide to mitigate the effects of drought in Spain, which are increasingly intense and have a growing impact on the economy and society.
On the other hand, we conveyed the need for resource planning, as well as the need to strengthen public-private collaboration to successfully undertake large-scale water projects, modernise and expand existing infrastructures and improve efficiency in the operation and maintenance of desalination and water reuse facilities.
In addition, we highlight the need for greater outreach to raise public awareness of the use of non-conventional water resources.
In this context, we underline the leadership of Spain and its companies in desalination and reuse technologies, which have made the country an international benchmark in water management in scenarios of scarcity.
Julen Cabero García
