[REVISION HISTORY]

Balearic Islands water scarcity and infrastructure response

Updated 9 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-10-09 07:15 UTC → 2026-10-10 15:08 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Balearic Islands continue to face intensifying water scarcity and management crises. Regional water consumption has reached 247 billion liters annually, with an average daily per capita consumption of 136 liters, exceeding the Spanish national average. In Mallorca, a study by Terraferida highlighted a surge in swimming pool construction, noting that 10,680 pools were built between 2015 and 2024. Water reserves in the archipelago fell to 36% in September 2026, a two-point decrease from August. This decline was driven by lower levels in Mallorca and Ibiza, while Menorca saw a slight recovery to 38%. September was a dry month, with average precipitation at 47 liters per square meter, 30% below the usual 68 liters. Consequently, four demand units—Artà, es Pla, Manacor-Felanitx, and Migjorn—are currently on alert for hydrological drought, while six other areas remain in pre-alert status. To address ~~these issues,~~ infrastructure and flood risks, the ~~Balearic Government~~ government has utilized the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS) to fund ~~infrastructure~~ projects, ~~prioritizing water management and the environment in its 2026-2027 budget. However,~~ though the execution of the Balearic Islands Hydrological Plan (PHIB) 2022-2027 remains ~~critically~~ slow. As of September 2026, only 23% of planned works have been awarded. While the government has awarded 111.7 million euros (21.5%) of its portion, municipal execution is heavily skewed by a single project: the expansion of the Palma II wastewater treatment plant. Without this project, municipal execution would fall below 6%. Three major projects—the Palma II expansion, the Palma Bay desalination plant remodeling, and the Petra-Manacor pipeline—account for 65% of all awarded funds. The Aliança per l'Aigua noted that the average annual award between 2018 and September 2026 was approximately 18 million euros, far below the 79 million euros required annually to meet PHIB targets. In response to Regarding flood ~~risks from intense rainfall, the government has tripled its investment in torrent network maintenance to 17.1 million euros for 2026. Complementing these efforts,~~ prevention, the Consell de Mallorca is investing nine million euros to expand the bridge over the Ses Planes ~~torrent to prevent a recurrence of the 2018 flash flood.~~ torrent. The project, which ~~began in April,~~ is ~~currently~~ halfway ~~complete and aims to~~ complete, will increase water passages from four to ~~ten.~~ ten and install over 200 meters of reinforcement walls. Once finished, the bridge will be capable of absorbing up to 500 tons of water per second, intended to handle precipitation levels similar to the 2018 disaster. The road is expected to reopen between January and February 2027.

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