On Friday, March 6th, the Orihuela City Council put out the bid for the building of a new drinking water reservoir in Orihuela Costa. The goal of this strategic infrastructure project is to strengthen the water supply system and make sure there are enough water reserves in this part of the city. At a press conference, Orihuela’s Mayor Pepe Vegara, Councillor for Urban Planning Matías Ruiz, Councillor for Infrastructure Víctor Valverde, and Councillor Anabel García all spoke about the news.
Víctor Valverde, the Councillor for Infrastructure, said that this is “a very important and necessary project” that is part of the investments that the current government is making. “It’s a project that residents might not notice right away because they can still turn on the tap and get water after the work is done. But that’s exactly why it’s necessary: it makes sure that there will be enough water in case something goes wrong with the network,” he said.
Valverde said that Orihuela Costa doesn’t have enough reserve capacity right now, and this has been the case for years because people didn’t plan ahead. “This is a problem we’ve been working with since 2010, and it hasn’t been fixed until now. He said, “There isn’t enough reserve capacity right now, and this project will make sure there is at least a minimum supply.”
The councillor also said that this is the first step in a series of planned activities to strengthen the coastal hydraulic system. He praised the Department of Urban Planning and the municipal technical team for their help in writing and overseeing the project.
Matías Ruiz, the Councillor for Urban Planning, has talked about the project’s technical and administrative details. It is being put out to tender through a simplified open procedure, with a budget of 2,344,795.81 euros (including VAT) and a time frame of eight months from the signing of the site handover report.
Ruiz said that the new drinking water reservoir will quadruple the amount of water that the Peña de las Águilas intake can hold. When it is finished, it will hold 10 hours of water instead of five. This will make sure that subscribers have a more reliable supply in case of a breakdown or other problem. The new reservoir will be erected close to the old one in the El Canal region. It will hold the same amount of water, 6,000 cubic metres.
The infrastructure will have a circular-planned reservoir with a prestressed projected concrete type with a crust reinforcement. The inner radius will be 20 metres, the perimeter wall and slab will be 20 centimetres thick, and the wall will be five metres high.
The dry-mix shotcrete method will be used to pour the concrete for the tank. This method lets you avoid putting in a double formwork and makes the wall thinner without any difficulties.
There will be 26 reinforced concrete pillars, each 4.50 metres tall, supporting the construction of the tank’s floor slab. The pillars will transfer the weight to the ground by isolated reinforced concrete footings.
Pre-stressed prefabricated alveolar slabs will be used to build the roof. A high-quality liquid waterproofing system will finish it off.
The project entails building the reservoir itself and making many modifications to the amenities that are already there. These include cast iron pipes that bring water directly to the new reservoir, a 700 mm nominal diameter pipe intake that goes around the old reservoir, a 700 mm ductile iron pipe at the bottom intake, and other things that need to be done to make the system work better.
There will also be remote control, chlorination, and intrusion alarm systems put in, and the whole area will be rebuilt with new paving, lighting, and a fence around the outside.
The Urban Planning Councillor said that this project is the first step in the Orihuela Costa Drinking Water Supply Master Plan, which was modified in 2023 when the current administration took over. This plan covers all the hydraulic infrastructure needed to make sure that all the dwellings in the municipality, both those that are already built and those that are planned in the General Urban Development Plan, have enough water supply and reserve. This will make sure that the pressure and flow rate are always high.
The second phase of the plan is now in progress and comprises numerous projects, one of which is a new intake from the Cartagena Canal in the PAU-21 growth region. This will provide you another source of water and a bigger supply. The plan also includes building a new 2,000-cubic-metre main reservoir, a pumping station to the existing 6,000-cubic-metre T-2 reservoir, and the completion of the DN400 main water network, which has already been designed. The Taibilla Canal Consortium will also build a pumping station from the canal to the new reservoir in PAU-21.
The Orihuela City Council will make sure that there is enough drinking water for all the new buildings planned in the current PGOU by carrying out the two phases of the Master Plan for Drinking Water Supply in Orihuela Costa. This will make sure that there is enough flow, pressure, and water volume in case of an emergency.
Pepe Vegara, the mayor of Orihuela, said that this project shows how committed the government team is to building important infrastructure for the future of the town, even if it means doing projects that don’t have an immediate, apparent effect on citizens. “As the Councillor for Infrastructure has said, people can now turn on their taps and see water flow. This will continue to happen when the project is done.” “But the most important thing is that this investment of almost three million euros guarantees a safe water supply even in the event of an incident,” he said.
Vegara said that these kinds of efforts show that the government team is committed to designing infrastructure with the long term in mind, not just the short term. “We said from the start that we wanted to make the future better for residents by making them feel safer, more comfortable, and getting better services.” She said, “This means making bold choices and starting infrastructure projects that may not help you politically right away, but are necessary to make sure basic services are available.”
The mayor also said that this initiative had been needed for a long time. “We’re talking about a problem that has been around for more than ten years.” He said, “Since 2010, it has been clear that the water supply system in Orihuela Costa needs to be strengthened, but nothing had been done about it until now.”
In this sense, Vegara said that the new reservoir is not the final answer, but rather an integral part of a larger project that the City Council is already working on. He went on to say, “We are also working on new pipelines and a structural solution that will guarantee the water supply in Orihuela Costa, taking into account the planned urban developments.”
The mayor also talked about other things the City Council is doing in Orihuela Costa, like the future footbridge over the AP-7, which is about to go out to bid, and the second health centre in Orihuela Costa. The City Council has already sent all the paperwork to the Generalitat and is now waiting for the agreement to be signed so that the project can be written up and built.
He also talked about the infrastructure projects that are already in progress, like fixing up public places along the seaside and repaving many highways. “This administration is entirely committed to improving Orihuela Costa, which is one of the municipality’s jewels. He ended by saying, “For a long time, the focus has been on short-term solutions, but we are working on infrastructure that, while not always pretty, makes sure our residents are safe, comfortable, and healthy.”
