Jalon Valley Under Threat Of Water Supply Loss

A new urbanisation could mean the collapse of the Vall del Pop water system and leave Lliber, Alcalali, Jalon, Parcent, Benissa and Benigembla without drinking water for several months a year.

This is one of the conclusions that emerged from the data of a water impact report regarding the new housing estate. It was prepared by Jalon town hall, and sent to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Medina de Lliber PAI plans to build 488 homes in the natural area of ​​Muntanya Llarga in the area of the old Lady Elizabeth school building.

According to the project itself, posted on the website of Lliber town hall, the urbanisation will consume 568 m3 of water per day, doubling the daily consumption of Lliber, and exceeding the extraction capacity of the entire Vall de Pop water system.

The PAI would consume 35 per cent of the total current extraction capacity of the wells located in Parcent. In 2022, Lliber consumed 216,660 litres, which means that the new PAI would increase the consumption of Llíber by more than 100 per cent.

The water consumption of the PAI would imply far exceeding the annual consumption of Jalon alone.

The increase in demand would leave most of the towns in the Vall de Pop without drinking water, which is currently already above the flows forecast by the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation. If the project goes ahead, every town and village between Benigembla and Senija will have serious problems with their drinking water supply between May and October.

Faced with the situation, Jalon council requested an urgent reconsideration of the project and warned that it is studying jointly with other municipalities to file legal actions to stop what it understands to be “a fatal wound to the well-being of the citizens of the Vall de Pop”.

In addition, Jalon town hall warned that “the visual impact would imply a drop in tourist quality and consequently a loss of value of other properties and purchasing power of neighbours.”

“The mass tourism and residential model implies a drop in wages and the well-being of citizens”, said the town hall.