Martorell takes the final step to have a Municipal Emergency Plan (PE) in Drought Situations. This Monday, it passed for approval at the last Municipal Plenum of the 2023-24 academic year. The new document incorporates five amendments that the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) requested for approval. The EP moves forward with the favorable votes of Junts per Martorell, PSC and ERC and the abstention of Movem Martorell.
The Plan, as explained in the plenary session by councilor and coordinator of the Area of Territory and Sustainability, of Martorell City Council, Albert Fernández, “marks the situation of water supply in our population and what is its operation, and what measures must we apply both in periods of normality and in phases of alert, emergency or exceptionality due to drought”.
Based on this analysis, the EP establishes a series of measures that must be applied, for example, “at domestic, irrigation, pool filling or industrial level, bearing in mind that in Martorell this area takes the 60% of consumption. And all in each of the different phases”.
Albert Fernández, regidor i coordinador de l’Àrea de Territori i Sostenibilitat
The PE is a mandatory document for all those Catalan municipalities with a registered population equal to or greater than 20,000 inhabitants. It is determined by the Government of the Generalitat of Catalonia through the Special Plan for Action in Situations of Alert and Possible Drought (PES), which at the same time complies with the National Hydrologic Plan, which determines that all basin bodies must prepare a Plan to face drought situations.
Martorell presented the PE in August 2021 to the ACA, but this informed him unfavorably considering that it did not sufficiently guarantee the requirements demanded by the PES. Once the pandemic was over, the council presented a new version of the EP that collected and modified “the amendments that we had to rectify”. Then the ACA reported favorably, and the last step was its approval in the Plenary.
Albert Fernández, regidor i coordinador de l’Àrea de Territori i Sostenibilitat
The 16 councilors of Junts per Martorell, the two of the PSC and the councilor of ERC voted in favor of the approval of the EP, while Movem Martorell abstained. Of this latest formation, councilor Àngels Cardona explained that “we are very happy that the Plan has arrived, because it is absolutely necessary. But among the measures to be adopted in each of the phases, we are missing the prevention of water loss, leaks and irrigation systems”. He also made amendments to each of the 5 fixes made by the ACA.
Àngels Cardona, regidora de Movem Martorell
For his part, the ERC councilor was satisfied “that the EP incorporates all the recommendations of the ACA” and asked the government if “the municipal drought committee” had already been formed.
Soulimane Messaoudi, regidor d'ERC
Minute of silence for the latest victims of gender violence
Before the start of the Plenary, the Councilor for Equality Remedios Márquez asked for a minute of silence “for a very dark weekend”, in which five cases of women dead allegedly at the hands of their partners have been recorded in the state, two of them in Catalonia -Salou and Sabadell-, one in Madrid and two in the Valencian Country -Alacant and Bunyol-. If confirmed as sexist crimes, they would raise to 25 the number of murdered women victims of femicides in the state since the beginning of the year, and almost half of these cases -12- would have happened in Catalonia.
Márquez emphasized that “we must fight against this cycle” and expressed “support for the relatives and friends of the victims”.
Remedios Márquez, regidora d'Igualtat de l'Ajuntament de Martorell
With regard to other points of the operative part, the Plenary unanimously approved the modification of the staff and table of jobs of the City Council staff, with an increase of 4 new officers – to reach a total of 43 -, 2 new corporals and a new sergeant with a reduced position, in addition to other measures – such as a new app – and resources to strengthen surveillance and protect the population as much as possible, thinking about the present moment and the future.
Finally, the modification of the ordinance regulating the tariffs of the public drinking water supply service in Martorell was approved. Mayor Fonollosa announced that the rate will rise from 0.8 to 1.5 euros per month per family”. Councilor Amat described it as “adjusted enough”, he emphasized that “we haven’t changed the rates for four years” and that, despite everything, “we will continue to be the village of Baix Llobregat with the lowest price of water”.
Source: martorelldigital.cat
