Not even the lack of water stops urbanism: the Islands dry up

PalmaThe Balearic Islands face a complicated summer in terms of water supply and, more worryingly, a race against time to guarantee this resource in the coming years. The problem is no longer just whether it will rain more or less in the coming months, but whether the current system, at its limit during the summer months, will be able to withstand while the infrastructure to reduce dependence on aquifers arrives. The Islands are preparing an offensive of investments in desalination, reuse, supply networks, and sanitation, but a good part of these actions are still in the project, tender, or execution phase.

The Government has in no case wanted to renounce urban growth, despite the lack of water. There is no containment measure, no review of urban plans, let alone a moratorium, "nor is it expected," lament environmentalists. Not from the Executive nor from any municipality, not even from those governed by the left. "They could decree measures, for example, on rural land, where 'large houses' are built that consume a lot of water; not even MÉS does it in Santa Maria, where dozens are built each year," says Jaume Adrover, spokesperson for Terraferida.

In Palma, the nearly 10 strategic land projects already incorporate 45% more buildable area under the guise of providing more housing for citizens. All this paints a picture of maximum short-term tension, but the Government responds that it has a major bet: desalination, with an investment of nearly 150 million euros. But beyond the environmental impact, "because it consumes a huge amount of electrical energy, therefore, it deepens unsustainability", as Neus Prats, territorial spokesperson for GEN-GOB, recalls, the question right now is clear: how will the Islands get through this desert crossing of continuing to grow and not having more water until at least five years from now?

The result is an especially delicate transition scenario: demand continues to grow while new water guarantees have not yet arrived. The Ministry of the Sea and Water Cycle has assured ARABalears that the new homes "will not be finished immediately". "Moreover, a good part of these developments are intended for people who have been residing in the Balearic Islands for a long time, and therefore, each new home cannot be automatically identified with an equivalent increase in water consumption". In parallel, the Government states that it is taking actions such as improving network connections and modernizing facilities, "which represents a response in the short, medium and long term".

47 municipalities with problems

In April 2026, up to 37 municipalities were in a pre-alert situation and 10 in an alert situation for drought, while 20 were in a normal situation. The Ministry of the Sea and the Water Cycle recalls, however, that these scenarios are defined by demand units and not strictly by municipalities, as the same municipal term can have different realities depending on the wells and supply systems.

Cels Garcia, Professor of Geography at the University of the Balearic Islands, summarizes this situation with an expression: “It’s Groundhog Day”. According to him, the problem repeats itself, because “all municipalities not connected to the water network and to the Palma desalination plant have problems”.

These municipalities still depend, in large part, on groundwater, which over the years has become saline in some cases, and in others still resists, but with a pressure that the Directorate General of Hydraulic Resources itself admits is excessive, because it prevents regeneration. “In recent years, the water in the aquifers is at 50% and sometimes less, around 40%,” explains Garcia. “This means you have little water and there are municipalities without an alternative, because they only depend on this water”.

The drought map is uneven, but it shows a repeated pattern: the areas least connected to the general systems are those with the most difficulties when rainfall is not sufficient. “The problem is that this is not a new situation; it repeats itself,” points out Garcia. “It depends. One year it's Ibiza, another year it's another area. But the pattern is the same”.

Maximum pressure on aquifers

Underground water is still a fundamental part of the Balearic water system. When it rains less, aquifers have less capacity to recover, but demand continues to exert pressure on these resources.

The Government has precisely prioritized reducing dependence on aquifers by increasing desalinated water production. However, the time this transition requires and the lack of any plan to reduce urban growth paint a short-term picture of water stress.

Reserves show a varied trend between islands. In April 2026, Mallorca had reserves at 50%, four points less than a year earlier. During August 2025, they had dropped to 43%. Menorca presents a particularly delicate situation: it went from 51% in April 2025 to 43% in April 2026, after reaching 34% during the previous August. Ibiza has had a subsequent recovery, but also experienced a very complicated situation with reserves at 26% in August 2025.

Menorca is one of the clearest examples of the structural problem. The lack of sufficient connections between systems and the dependence on local resources make certain areas particularly vulnerable.

Garcia insists that the key is planning. “If, moreover, you have a demand that increases every year, with more tourism and more residents, obviously, in the end, things get complicated”.

5% less water

Climate change also contributes to drying out the environment more. The same Ministry of the Sea and the Water Cycle, in response to questions from MÉS deputy Maria Ramon, calculates that the effects of climate change could reduce water availability by 0.45% each year, which would be equivalent to an accumulated loss of 4.5% in a decade. The Government points out that the main impact will not necessarily be a drastic reduction in average rainfall, but an increase in extreme episodes: longer droughts, torrential downpours, and less capacity to recharge aquifers.

The Plan, at its limit

The Pla de Mallorca is, at the moment, the area with the most water stress in the Balearic Islands and the only one in a drought alert situation. To prevent the situation from leading to restrictions, the Government has activated several emergency measures, such as connecting an additional well to the Montuïri system, subsidies for water transport by truck, a new loading point from the drinking water network, and several desalinated water supply points.

In parallel, structural actions are also being promoted to strengthen the system in the medium term. There is the potable water pipeline between Maria de la Salut and Sineu, currently in the expropriation phase; the construction of a new regulation tank in Sineu and the deployment of a future high-level network between municipalities. But many of the solutions are not yet available. "The desalination plants? The projects are being done," explains Garcia. "But when they come into operation, what do you do for these two, three, or four years without these desalination plants, while population capacity and pressure increase?

Another of the system's weaknesses is the efficiency of existing networks. According to data provided by the Ministry of the Sea and the Water Cycle, 26 municipalities have losses greater than 30% in their supply networks.