At the last Governing Board of the Teulada – Benitatxell Water Consortium, three actions were agreed upon that will make it possible to achieve sufficiency of water resources for the citizens of Teulada Moraira and Poble Nou de Benitatxell.
Two of the important interventions are, on the one hand, the project for the kit and the new channeling of the Canor Bessó Well and, on the other, the new desalination plant in Castellons, which will involve an investment of more than 3,6 million euros.
It is expected that the actions will go to public bidding early next year. According to the extension agreement of the concessionaire signed at the end of 2021, to pay for these works, the Consortium has requested the relevant financing from the company, without this implying any increase in the duration of the current concession, nor any additional expense for the Consortium or for the neighbors, since the financing will be carried out without any type of interest.
Canor Besso Well
The commissioning of the Canor Bessó Well, which had been in disuse since it was built in 2016, will allow increase the Consortium's current water production by around 3.500 m³/day. This will guarantee the supply in quantity and quality for the entire neighborhood of the two municipalities, which have suffered quality restrictions on several occasions in recent years, especially in summer, and even a cut in 2015.
Until now, the production deficit was compensated with the purchase of water from the municipal water company. Xàbia, AMJASA, which has always supported the needs of the Consortium to be able to meet the demands of its neighbors. This good relationship will continue in the future within regional water policy.
New desalination plant
As a necessary complement to the latest investment, a new desalination plant will be built next to the existing one in Castellons, to guarantee the production of an additional 2.500 m³/day, which will be expandable in the medium term to around 5.000 m³/day. This investment will improve the quality of the water in the service, while incorporating technological improvements to be more energy efficient in the purification process.
Solar panels for energy self-sufficiency
In this sense, it has also been approved apply for subsidies for the installation of solar panels in the water production and purification facilities, where most of the electricity consumption is concentrated. The objective of this action designed in the medium and long term is to achieve energy self-sufficiency through the use of renewable sources to avoid depending on the large electricity companies.
The proposal contemplates the installation of four photovoltaic systems, with a power of 1.400 kW, where it is intended to produce 2,25 million kW-h of energy, which would make it possible to practically fully satisfy the energy demands of these facilities. The investment is estimated at 1,6 million euros, of which it could be obtained close to half a million in grants of public bodies.
This energy production will imply benefits for the environment, since the production of more than 600 tons of CO₂ per year will be avoided, the equivalent of the production of greenhouse gases that would be generated by 300 passenger cars over the course of a year.
