Benidorm demands for the third time that the Ministry review the PORN of Serra Gelada to be able to build ponds for agricultural use

For the third time in just four years, the Benidorm City Council is going to demand that the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development, Climate Emergency, and Ecological Transition review the articles of the Natural Resources Management Plan (PORN) of Serra Gelada to make possible the construction of ponds for agricultural use in the surroundings of the Natural Park.

The councillor of Water Cycle, José Ramón González de Zárate, transferred that "the first time that the City Council asked the Department to modify the articles of the PORN was in October 2018." “Given the lack of response – he continued – in November 2021 we returned to demand this modification in full; and now, more than a year later, we are doing it again, understanding that it is time to make investments that allow us to face possible future episodes of water deficit in the region with more guarantees”.

González de Zárate stressed that "it is not a minor matter, since this change in the PORN is essential to unblock the pond projected next to the Wastewater Treatment Plant (EDAR) and the Serra Gelada tertiary treatment plant, and make it possible that in the future, depending on the needs, more rafts of this type can be built”.

Regarding the projected one, he recalled, "it can store 21,000 cubic meters of purified water so that it can be used by the irrigators of the region when they need it."

González de Zárate stressed that "the location of this pond is not capricious, since its proximity to these hydraulic infrastructures makes the management of these resources even more sustainable, by not having to deploy kilometers of pipes to connect the pond with the tertiary treatment plant in which this treated and desalinated water is generated”.

But in addition to this environmental benefit, as mentioned in the motion that the local government will raise to the next plenary session, having ponds for agricultural use in Serra Gelada will have a positive effect "in the fight against fires" in the middle of the Park.

Hence, "the insistence of the City Council, and we understand that also of the entire Marina Baixa Water Consortium, to get the Ministry to take the necessary administrative steps to update the PORN, thus making it possible for this pool to become a reality as soon as possible, on especially if we take into account that we have been waiting for five years”.

On this point, the mayor recalled that "at the end of 2017 the Consortium promoted a project financed by the Alicante Provincial Council for the construction of two ponds of these characteristics to improve water management in the region: one in La Nucía and the other from Benidorm”. However, and despite "all the time that has elapsed and the steps taken" from the Consortium, almost five years later only the La Nucía pond has been able to be built.