Opponents ask Madrid to intervene
A LECRIN valley-based mineral water company is operating without the correct documentation.
The town hall of Durcal confirmed that Aguas Minerales de Sierra Nevada SL lacks the necessary municipal licences but refused to comment if the company would be sanctioned.
This comes after opposition group Platform in Defence of Water for the Lecrin Valley filed an official complaint with a Granada court about the lack of documentation.
Even though a spokesman for the water company said the licence was in application, there are calls for the project’s permanent suspension.
“We reiterate that there is not a sufficient amount of water in the valley to support a project like this and supply the 20,000 people of the valley,” a spokesman for the protest group said.
The Sevilla-based company is extracting 31 litres of water per second from underground reserves and has constructed a bottling plant on 7,000-square metres of land above Durcal, “without the relevant environmental impact studies,” according to the Platform.
A Guardia Civil report also found irregularities with the bottling plant, claiming it has destroyed three barrancos (ravines).
As reported in the Olive Press (Water pact lets ex-Junta chief off the hook, issue 40), central government has been asked to step in and put a stop to the project.
