New Júcar-Vinalopó pipeline

New Júcar-Vinalopó pipeline
Scope of action: Cuenca Hidrográfica del Jucar
Total investments: 330,100,000 €

Description of worksState: Finalizada

The regions of Vinalopó and Alicantí in the province of Alicante, have had major water shortages for years. This deficit is being covered by the overexploitation of aquifers, several of them have already reached totally unsustainable levels. In coastal regions, where demand is mostly urban, the situation can be successfully resolved by the desalination of seawater, but in the interior regions, where demand is mainly agrarian and stands at quite high levels above sea level, the contribution of resources from other basins is necessary. In the late 1990s- the Júcar Vinalopó pipeline was designed for this, its first section was started in late 2002. With this action it is hoped that water will be transferred from the river Vinalopó to the river Júcar, thus contributing to the recovery of aquifers of Vinalopó and their associated ecosystems. The hydraulic operating plan of the pipeline is a lift from an inlet on the Júcar river, at a height of 1.5 masl from the Azud de la Marquesa to a maximum height of 656 masl through a series of pumping stations called the Azud de la Marquesa (Cullera), El Panser (Llaurí), Llanera de Ranes and Moixent. Once the maximum level of elevation has been exceeded, which occurs in the discharge chamber of Ramblar in the previous layout (section V La Font de la Figuera), the water flows by gravity, either to the pool of San Diego at the end of the pipeline or directly to its delivery to the post-transfer, established at the discharge of the power plant of Alhorines (Villena).

STATE OF THE ACTION:
The works are completed.

INSTALLATIONS: