The Government opens the door to avoid water reports in certain urban development projects

PalmaThe Government introduced a last-minute legal modification to water regulations to exempt some urban development operations from the need to obtain authorization from the Directorate General of Water Resources. An additional provision of the Omnibus Law approved by the PP and Vox allows for the avoidance of new water sufficiency reports (water availability) in certain cases, provided that a specific plan or project is not considered to increase demand or that the circumstances justifying previous reports have not changed.

The condition is that these are plans that have already been reported on and that no new demands for water resources have appeared, nor any relevant modifications with respect to the initial scenario in a new procedure. Critical voices from some urban planning technicians consulted by ARA Balears point out that "a rule has been modified that established that any urban plan had to go through Water Resources, and now exceptions are being made." "No matter how much it is formally stated that new developments must be re-authorized, it leaves the decision-making power to municipal criteria and, therefore, increases subjectivity, which is what interests those who want to grow," states a specialist who requests anonymity. "Someone wants to get rid of the opinion of Water Resources," they conclude.

It will be the municipality in question that, if it decides not to submit the plan in question to Water Resources, will draw up a technical report to accredit the decision. ARA Balears has tried to clarify where this amendment came from, as the consulted Water Resources technicians have no knowledge of it. Some sources point to the pressure exerted by the mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, to accelerate the new housing developments planned for Palma's developable land. The Ministry of the Sea and Water Cycle has declined to provide information on this amendment, despite it being within its competence.

Palma has approved new developments

The reform arrives at a particularly sensitive moment for Palma. Over the last year and a half, the City Council has approved measures to increase the urban development potential of various developable sectors, relying on the housing emergency measures promoted by the Government. These modifications allow an increase in buildability and the potential number of homes compared to the scenarios that formed the basis for the original planningPalma plans to obtain more than 10 million additional liters The debate arises after the technical reports from Water Resources put a brake on Palma's General Plan due to water shortages. The department concluded that, during the processing of the Pact's General Plan, the city "did not have enough water to accommodate all the housing growth planned until 2038." According to the documentation analyzed by this newspaper, the main aquifers that supply the city show very high exploitation levels, and some even exceed the recommended limits.

Now, Strategic Transformation Projects allow for an increase of up to 45% in urban development potential, an increase in the potential number of homes, and an acceleration of sector development, and eliminate a large part of the temporary limitations initially foreseen. This modification of urban parameters has opened the debate on whether the water reports issued in the past are still valid for growth scenarios that no longer coincide with those that were subject to evaluation. "Someone is looking for an umbrella to avoid going through Water Resources," said the same technician consulted by ARA Balears.

Palma will need more water

Municipal hydraulic planning assumes that future urban growth will require increasing water production. As published by ARA Balears, Palma plans to obtain more than 10 million additional liters per day through new supply sources, a forecast that includes greater dependence on desalination and available catchments.

Technical sources consulted by ARA Balears warn that the new provision could lead to different interpretations during the processing of urban development projects. According to these sources, there is a risk that some developers or administrations will understand that it is no longer necessary to consult Water Resources again when they consider that there is no new water demand or when the superior planning has already been favorably informed.

However, these experts emphasize that the reform does not eliminate the powers of the hydraulic administration. In their opinion, the new wording should only serve to avoid the repetition of reports on issues already analyzed, but not to dispense with sectoral controls when new "demands or situations different from those valued in the first report" arise, they explain.

Part of Barcelona's General Plan, annulled for ignoring water

While this flexibility is being introduced in the Balearic Islands, a recent ruling by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia has reinforced the importance of hydrological controls in urban planning. The court has declared null and void the modification of the General Metropolitan Plan for the Gràcia neighborhood in Barcelona because, during its processing, the report from the Catalan Water Agency was not requested, despite the area affecting eight underground water mines.

The ruling rejects the idea that this analysis can be postponed to later stages and argues that the protection of water resources requires a global vision during the planning phase. The court considers that the supervision of the water authority cannot be replaced by fragmented project-by-project controls once urban planning decisions have already been made.

The Catalan ruling does not analyze Balearic legislation or the new exception approved by Parliament. However, it highlights the relevance that courts attribute to the intervention of competent water management bodies when urban plans may alter future water resource needs.