PalmThe offensive announced by Water Resources and the Civil Guard against illegal water extraction from the islands' wells is serious. This year, the Directorate General has already carried out 70 inspections at as many water intakes and opened 62 cases. The majority, 54, are due to the discovery of illegal wells, and the remaining eight are due to other types of complaints.
In Menorca alone, where the well at a tourist property in Alaior that was extracting more water without authorization has been closed so far, the Civil Guard has already carried out 17 inspections and filed nine complaints for extracting water without permission. These will not be the only ones. Operation Zahorí, launched throughout the state, includes at least five other major joint actions pending execution by Water Resources and the Civil Guard in the Balearic Islands, two of which will be carried out in Mallorca and could affect a golf course.
The fatal accident suffered in 2019 by little Julen, a two-year-old son who lost his life after falling into an illegal well in Totalán (Málaga), brought to light the existence of 11,000 illegal wells throughout the Andalusian province. In the case of the Islands, the experts and technicians from the Administration consulted by ARABalears suspect that there may be hundreds. The Water Portal of the Ministry of the Sea lists 1,692 groundwater concessions in force in the Islands, but many more whose wells are withdrawing water.
According to the sources consulted, the issue spirals out of control when supposedly agricultural uses are used to cover excessive extraction for tourism activities. This was, for example, the purpose of the well sealed last week at the Cap Menorca hotel in Alaior, where up to 40 tons of water were extracted just to irrigate the gardens and fill the complex's 16 swimming pools almost daily.
In Menorca, only the 150 wells used for urban water supply are under the control of the Administration, but not in all cases. In Ciutadella, for example, whose well extracted the most water in 2022, some 757 tons, was not registered in the Water Resources census. In contrast, the flow rate of those operated for rural purposes is unknown. And therein lies the real problem of the widespread shortages the Archipelago is currently experiencing.
Water Reserves
Consumption in the countryside is what eludes official statistics and largely explains the critical situation of the islands' water reserves this summer. Data from last July confirms that Ibiza and Menorca are experiencing the worst situation in the last ten years. In Ibiza, the water reserve level is only 29% full, the same as in May 2016, while in Menorca it has dropped to 40%, the worst figure of the decade. In Mallorca, it stands at 46%, slightly higher than last year. Even so, the situation of water reserves in places such as San Agustín (Ibiza), which is only 3% full, or those of Marineta de Petra (Mallorca), which is at 17%, and Roca del Mercadal (Menorca), which is at 30%, is particularly striking.
Controlling illegal extraction becomes a primary objective at this point, which explains the joint involvement of Water Resources and the Nature Protection Service (Seprona) of the Civil Guard to pursue the corresponding environmental crime. However, the problem is that the Administration lacks sufficient mechanisms to process all the sanctions and ensure that the inspection is truly effective. As ARA Baleares reported last June, the Balearic Islands Prosecutor's Office has decided to file a criminal complaint to clarify the alleged administrative negligence of the former Ministry of the Environment, which has allowed hundreds of files opened during the Pact era to expire. The case is in the hands of the Palma courts.
Three rural hotels in Alaior, in the spotlight
Alaior is currently the municipality with the highest concentration of complaints. The Avançam Alaior group has acted as an opposition group and has asked the City Council to intensify its inspection and oversight in response to the proliferation of rural tourism establishments in the municipality using unauthorized water sources.
Spokesperson Isa Allès criticizes Mayor José Luis Benejam for his "weak, permissive, and insufficient" response, especially in the case of the Torre Vella agrotourism resort, where the City Council legalized seven illegal swimming pools that had initially been passed off as cisterns, "thus forgiving a midday." Allès fears that the granting of the license "is riddled with irregularities" and is considering filing an administrative appeal to bring the case before the courts. "It cannot be that, with the stroke of a pen, some people do whatever they want while the people who live here humbly comply with the rules. Impunity must end," she demands.
In Sant Llorenç, the other Alaior hotel under investigation, nine swimming pools were not declared when submitting the project. In Cap Menorca, where the illegal well has now been closed, 40 tons of water were extracted without a permit daily to refill a large 500-square-meter pool and another 15 tons of smaller ones.