Date Published: 12/11/2020
ARCHIVED - 292 procedures against agricultural concerns illegally drilling into the Campo de Cartagena aquifer
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
The campaign continues to eliminate illegal irrigation from the area around the Mar Menor
Throughout the summer of 2020 the CHS water infrastructures administration body in the Region of Murcia and the rest of the Segura basin has continued the task of examining all of the potentially illegal irrigation in the agricultural concerns in the Campo de Cartagena in order to identify and punish the unauthorized use of water from the aquifer beneath the crop fields, and the latest report made public by the Ministry for Ecological Transition specifies that a total of 292 procedures have been initiated in relation to 2,157 hectares of farmland since 2018.
Although the data have been published now they actually related to July of this year, and included in the breakdown of the overall totals are 155 proposed prosecutions which have been passed on to the regional government of Murcia. Among these are 129 related to the runoff of environmentally harmful substances into the Mar Menor from 2,125 hectares of farmland, where the punitive action proposed is that all agricultural activity should be halted: in many of these appropriate action has already been taken.
The CHS calculate that approximately half of the 9,500 hectares of potentially illegally irrigated land has now been examined, and that around 50 per cent of the prosecutions proposed have been confirmed, the rest being still under review. Meanwhile, the Ministry points out that the CHS is collaborating with the public Environmental Prosecution service in the investigation into the “contamination” of the Mar Menor.
The latest data show that the amount of land on which irregular agricultural and irrigation activity have been reported but on which no fine has been decided is 2,740 hectares, including 635 hectares managed by the farmers at the southern end of the Mar Menor and identified during the most recent inspections. In an effort to complete the examination of all the potentially irregular irrigation and drilling into the aquifer, inspection teams have been strengthened, and as a result they have identified a total of 186 unauthorized desalination plants in the Campo de Cartagena, 78 of which have resulted in sanctions.
Looking further ahead, the Ministry underlines that work is still on-going to prepare a plan of action for the recovery of the Mar Menor, ordering and prioritizing different strategies. Top priority is being given to ways of reducing the amount of harmful substances making their way into the lagoon and thus to protecting coastal ecosystems, and at the same time cooperation will be required from various administrations and sectors of the economy to ensure the establishment of environmentally sustainable infrastructures.
The Ministry also repeats the conclusions of a study produced by the Spanish Oceanographic Institute, which identifies the runoff of nutrients and organic material from agricultural activity as the main cause of the eutrophication which can turn the water of the Mar Menor a greenish colour. Other factors contributing to the degradation of the lagoon include contamination with heavy metals, chemical contamination and projects such as the construction of ports and marinas, residential development, dredging and the maintenance of beaches.