Councillor Juan Manuel Lafuente and Mayor Jaime Martínez have signed the agreement that promotes a key infrastructure for the sanitation of Palma Bay.
The Councillor for the Sea and the Water Cycle, Juan Manuel Lafuente, and the Mayor of Palma, Jaime Martínez, signed the general protocol of action this Wednesday at the Palma City Council, which will allow the execution of the new outfall of EDAR Palma II and the future treatment lines 5 and 6. The agreement, considered strategic for the sanitation of the bay, will mobilise a joint investment of more than 61 million euros.
Attending the event were the Director General of Water Resources of the Government, Joan Calafat; the Deputy Mayor for Public Function, Environment, Sustainability, Natural Spaces, Animal Welfare and Innovation, Llorenç Bauzá, and the manager of EMAYA, Lorenzo Morey. All of them supported a protocol that establishes a framework for institutional collaboration between the Government and the City Council of Palma.
A 6.8-kilometre outfall to protect the bay
The new outfall is an infrastructure designed to ensure the evacuation of excess regenerated water when it cannot be reused. This guarantees the operation of EDAR Palma II and strengthens the environmental safeguards of the city's sanitation system. The project plans to construct an outfall approximately 6.8 kilometres long: 1.5 kilometres will run on land and 5.35 kilometres under the sea.
This action is part of the process of expanding and modernising EDAR Palma II, one of the main hydraulic infrastructures in the Balearics. The aim is to increase treatment capacity and improve the management of treated water, promoting its reuse and providing a solution for excess flows. For the residents of Palma, this translates into greater protection of the marine environment and more efficient water management, a particularly valuable resource on an island.
Financing and project monitoring
Under the protocol, both administrations express their willingness to collaborate to make the execution of the project possible within the scope of their respective competencies. The Government will study different legal and budgetary formulas that allow contributing to the financing of the part corresponding to the City Council of Palma through resources from the sanitation fee, the insularity factor or other sources of regional, state or European funding, in accordance with current regulations and the corresponding administrative processing.
The agreement provides for the creation of a monitoring committee made up of representatives from the Government and the City Council of Palma, which will meet periodically to coordinate the development of actions and facilitate the progress of the project. The planned investment for the execution of the new outfall exceeds 39.6 million euros, while the future treatment lines number 5 and number 6 have an estimated budget of 22 million euros. Together, both actions will allow for the continued modernisation of Palma's sanitation system and strengthen the environmental protection of the bay.
Councillor Lafuente highlighted that "this protocol is a firm step towards ensuring a modern and sustainable sanitation system that protects our coastline." For his part, Mayor Martínez noted that "collaboration between institutions is key to addressing such necessary infrastructures as this one." The works, once tendered, are expected to begin in the coming months, which will mean a tangible improvement for the water quality of Palma Bay.
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