The meeting, chaired by the president of the provincial institution, Toni Pérez, also served to address the situation of the Tajo-Segura transfer, the Alicante 'Zero Discharge' project, and the future hydrological planning for the 2028-2033 cycle. According to the Provincial Council, the judicial decision consolidates the legal framework that allows the incorporation of resources from the Júcar into the Vinalopó-Alacantí system and reinforces the agreement signed in 2023 between the Central Users Board, the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation, and Acuamed for the operation of the transfer.
President Toni Pérez stated that “the recent ruling by the TSJCV consolidates the legal framework that allows the incorporation of resources from the Júcar into the Vinalopó–Alacantí system, a strategy that is showing positive results in the progressive recovery of historically overexploited aquifers.” The provincial official insisted, however, on the need to execute pending investments, especially the repair of the San Diego reservoir and the implementation of solar pumping systems to ensure “operational stability, energy efficiency, and long-term economic sustainability”.
During the meeting, the project for the Green Corridor of the Montnegre River was also presented, initially promoted by the Provincial Council of Alicante and later joined by the Generalitat Valenciana. The initiative, presented by the commissioner for Recovery, Raúl Mérida, involves an investment of 3.5 million euros and will allow the adaptation of the riverbed between Tibi and El Campello, over a 22-kilometer stretch, for social and landscape use. Furthermore, the project includes the creation of an inundation or regulation area to reduce flood risk in the surrounding environment.
The meeting was held without the presence of representatives from the Socialist Group or Compromís, an absence that Toni Pérez publicly lamented. The president of the Provincial Council defended the need to reach political consensus on water and water infrastructure in the province and assured that “we are talking about the present and future of the people of Alicante, and no one can stand aside.” He also called for the recovery of the historical “line of unanimity” on water matters and setting aside ideological differences to defend the province's interests.
Another issue addressed during the Commission was the situation of the Alicante 'Zero Discharge' project, affected by the loss of funding from the European Next Generation funds. The Provincial Council has called for a stable financing system and greater institutional coordination to prevent the loss of an investment considered strategic, as it would reduce discharges into the sea from metropolitan treatment plants and increase the availability of high-quality water resources.
Regarding the Tajo-Segura transfer, Toni Pérez warned of the impact that the full implementation of increased ecological flows and the reduction of groundwater extraction planned in the current hydrological planning could have. He cautioned that these measures “could generate a real water blackout in the Segura basin, with an estimated deficit of 213 hm3, compromising the viability of numerous agricultural uses and part of the overall balance of the water system.”
The Provincial Water Commission is already working with the Generalitat Valenciana to prepare objections to the Provisional Scheme of Important Topics corresponding to the 2028-2033 hydrological planning, which will affect the Júcar, Tajo, and Segura basins. Toni Pérez argued that these objections aim to “defend the province of Alicante” against state planning that, according to the Provincial Council, harms the territory's water interests.
