Climate Action Ministry plans to transfer water from Ebre River

The Catalan Ministry for Climate Action presented two projects on Sunday intended to guarantee irrigation support for the southern Catalan county of Priorat.  

The two projects propose to take water from the Ebre River and transfer it to different water reservoirs in the county to guarantee agricultural activity in the region.  

The first project will transfer water from the Catalan riverside town of Garcia and pump it to the Guiamets reservoir some 16 kilometers away, and then a further 60 kilometers north to the reservoir in Siurana. This project will benefit 1,588 hectares of rural land.

Currently, the reservoir in Guiamet is at 5% capacity, and nearly 600 farmers in the area have not been able to irrigate during the irrigation season.

Similarly, none of the reservoirs in the Priorat county have had enough water for the irrigation season.

The other project intends to connect the Margalef reservoir with the irrigation network in Garrigues-sud, and is expected to benefit more than 1,400 hectares of rural land.

A structural solution

According to Climate Action Minister, David Mascort, the project is a “structural solution” to ensure the future of the agricultural sector in the area, which mainly grows grapes and olives.  

Construction is expected to take three years, consume 5 hectometers of water per year, and have a price tag of €60m. 

Sergi Méndez, president of Priorat County Council, said that the intended quantity of water to be transferred is “very little” and to ensure the “survival of the agricultural model on in the county”. “We are not talking about expanding irrigation or the irrigation zone,” he stressed.       

In December of 2023, minister David Mascort ruled out transferring water from the Ebre River to improve the water deficit in Barcelona.