The backlog of projects in Palma's Water Resources department is for villas in flood-prone areas.

PalmThe water war continues in Palma. For the moment, Jaime Martínez's City Council has managed to avoid the preliminary reports from the Directorate General of Water Resources that prevent it from issuing building permits. The official argument is that there is a monumental backlog, which municipal sources have estimated at 500 files. Thus, the City Council emphasizes that projects to address the housing shortage have not been approved due to what it describes as a bottleneck in the Water Resources department. However, according to data consulted by ARABalears, the majority – up to 80% – of the projects that must be approved by the Directorate General are for detached houses. According to official figures, Palma does not have 500 pending applications, but rather 118. As already mentioned, the majority of these are for single-family homes, according to data from the Balearic Government. Thus, it could be concluded that the Palma City Council's Urban Planning Department is requesting permission from the regional government, regarding water resources, to build detached houses. In all cases, the procedure is carried out because the proposed construction site is a flood zone, and regulations require a ruling from the water authority.

The GOB has repeatedly called for "absolutely no construction to be authorized" in flood-prone areas, recalling the disasters caused by torrential rains in cases such as the DANA storm in the Valencian Community. The organization also cites environmental reasons.

Only one major project halted

Cort has publicly stated on numerous occasions that it is having trouble unblocking large multi-family housing projects. Therefore, it is striking that only one such project is awaiting approval from the Water Resources Department. This project is a residential building with over 300 apartments located in Nou Llevant, an area characterized by housing with prices higher than the average for Palma.

As ARA Baleares reported, Mayor Jaime Martínez's strategy of protesting what he calls the "collapse" of bureaucratic processes has been successful: from now on, the Palma City Council (Cort) will be able to grant building permits for urban development projects without the involvement of the Water Resources Department when dealing with flood-prone areas. This was confirmed by Regional Minister Juan Manuel Lafuente in the last plenary session of the Balearic Parliament, where he referred to an exceptional procedure "agreed upon with the City Council" for the latter to provide information on matters related to Water Resources. Lafuente admitted that this decision was made to expedite building permits. ARA Baleares had previously reported that the City Council had long been demanding not to have to go through the Directorate General to authorize large-scale housing developments that have been made possible by regulations promoting new construction. For the time being, the Balearic Government and the Palma City Council have agreed that projects can proceed without going through the department responsible for flood zones.

Until now, regulations stipulated that the Water Resources Department was responsible for determining the degree of impact of urban development projects in flood-prone areas. In his parliamentary address, Lafuente hinted that, thanks to administrative simplification laws, Palma has now been authorized to issue licenses without this screening process. The official objective is to reduce processing times and streamline bureaucratic procedures that, according to the Executive, are hindering investment and housing projects.

Water Shortage

In addition to the debate surrounding the blocking of Palma's flood-prone projects by the Water Resources Department, another source of tension between the City Council and some technicians, both from the City Council and the Balearic Government, is water sufficiency. ARABalears has compiled reports included in the General Plan which assert that the city's current growth rate cannot be sustained due to insufficient water. This clashes with Jaime Martínez's plans to promote large-scale construction projects to address Palma's housing shortage. The city's population has grown from 379,000 in 2004 to 480,000 today, a 26% increase that also includes new hotel accommodations. It is within this context of unchecked growth that the General Plan projects the construction of approximately 26,000 homes. According to the technical criteria of the water resources experts listed in the General Plan documentation, there is not enough water to cover this growth. Palma currently consumes about 38 cubic hectometers of water per year, and the aquifers only supply half. The other part comes from desalination, and at the moment, the desalination plant does not have the capacity it once did due to obsolescence. As ARABalears has learned, the calculations of the Palma City Council (Cort) indicate that 41 cubic hectometers will be needed in 10 years. "If they don't desalinate much more, it's impossible to accommodate the population growth," says a technician who asked to remain anonymous.

A serious problem is that some of Palma's aquifers are overexploited. Given this situation, Emaya (the municipal water company) should reduce the amount of water it extracts from the subsoil, a measure that is not feasible in the short term. Vileta, with 118% extraction – the authorized amount is 100% – and Sant Jordi, with 121%, confirm that the city is sacrificing natural resources, risking the salinization of the subsoil. Cels García, Professor of Geography at the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), laments that, "despite all the public education efforts and explanations about the need to let aquifers rest, the reality is that the Administration is not complying with regulations because it prioritizes short-term gains and constant growth, rather than the recovery of the subsoil." "It's a shame, but unfortunately, the problem has been brewing for some time, and the current outlook doesn't seem particularly encouraging," he says. General overexploitation

According to official data from 2023, overexploitation is not unique to Palma. In the Port of Andratx, the excess extraction from the aquifer far exceeds its capacity: 128%. Ciutadella and Maó, with exploitation rates of 105% and 106%, respectively, show the same situation in Menorca. In Ibiza, the Porroig and Cala Tarida aquifers exceed 115%. Water consumption in Mallorca is at its limit, at 117.7 cubic hectometers annually, and the Balearic Government's forecasts are 124.9 in 2030 and 130.3 in 2035. Eighty percent of the urban water supply comes from groundwater, and only 8% from surface water—percentages that highlight the critical dependence on aquifers.

The deadline for submitting comments on the review of the Balearic Islands Hydrological Plan ended on Friday. This process gives citizens and organizations the opportunity to contribute proposals to minimize risks and improve water management. Cels Garcia points out that the criteria for calculating the water allocation per capita have been designed in a deceptive way, with the aim of obtaining more water than is advisable. "They are too generous with tourist municipalities: they count the resident population and tourist accommodation places, assuming 100% occupancy," while actual usage fluctuates according to overnight stays and mobility data. According to the specialist, this directly influences the calculation of consumption limits per household and "creates a margin for each household." Other allegations point to the lack of consideration for the use of reclaimed water and the recharge of natural aquifers through streams and wastewater treatment plant discharges, with direct implications for water security. The absence of solutions for ecosystems is also noted. The report submitted by García emphasizes that, without incorporating these elements, sustainable water management plans lose effectiveness and cannot guarantee sufficient availability in extreme situations such as droughts and peak demand.