The residents of Planes del Rei, in Pratdip, report being deprived of drinking water for seven days
ACN Pratdip – The urbanization of Planes del Rei, in Pratdip (Baix Camp), has been without drinking water since December 31. This is what the residents denounce, claiming that the town hall is disengaging from the issue, blaming it on a malfunction in the installations, and justifying it by stating that the urbanization is private. However, the affected residents argue that, although it is a private urbanization, they pay their drinking water bills to the town hall.
“The mayor only issued a decree – presented on Wednesday – in which he says he asked the company to do what they can so that we have water,” said Òscar Serrano, one of the affected residents, to the ACN agency. He adds that the mayor insists it is the homeowners who must pay for the repairs.
In the urbanization, about 190 residents are affected by this water cut, which occurred during the end-of-year and Epiphany holidays, a time when many families are hosting visiting relatives from elsewhere.
“We can’t shower, do laundry, or cook,” laments Serrano, who points out that some neighbors filed complaints on Tuesday with the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police).
Serrano also explains that some residents had to seek refuge with relatives in other villages because they “couldn’t take it anymore” after seven days without drinking water, except for a few brief moments when the water briefly flowed again.
Neighbors also complain that no technical team has yet come on-site to repair the facilities, and that no alternative solution, such as a water tanker, has been provided.
The affected residents point out that they pay their water bills to the town hall, as well as the maintenance and repair fees. Serrano adds that there is currently debate over “whether the pumps are new or old,” but to him this is irrelevant because the town hall is responsible:
“It must be paid for, and that’s it. We pay a lot of taxes every year, and those costs are already included in the monthly bill,” he emphasizes.
Furthermore, he finds the situation even more absurd considering that Pratdip is one of the municipalities with the most water resources:
“Water runs through the ravines, and springs flow everywhere; not having water simply due to a lack of mechanism is very serious, especially when the town hall bears full responsibility.”
On Saturday afternoon, residents gathered to publicly denounce the situation.
A Baix Camp urbanization without water for a week
The urbanization of Planes del Rei, in Pratdip (Baix Camp), has been without drinking water since December 31. This is what the residents denounce, claiming that the town hall is disengaging from the issue, which would be due to a malfunction in the installations. The town hall justifies its inaction by saying it is a private urbanization.
However, the residents insist that, even if it is private, they pay their drinking water bills to the town hall. “The mayor only issued a decree [presented Wednesday] stating that he had asked the company to do what is necessary so we have water,” said Òscar Serrano, one of the affected residents. He adds that the mayor maintains that the owners must pay for the repairs.
Approximately 190 residents are affected by this cut, which occurred during New Year and Epiphany, a period when many families receive visits from relatives from other areas.
Some residents filed complaints with the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police).
The water conflict pits Pratdip against Les Planes del Rei
This morning, the municipality of Pratdip held its first plenary session of the year, marked by controversy. The debate focused on the water supply issues affecting the private urbanization of Les Planes del Rei.
The controversy dominated the first plenary meeting of the year, held this morning in Pratdip. Around thirty residents attended this tense session, during which cameras from Canal Reus Televisió were denied access at the request of the mayor, who prohibited the recording of the session.
The events date back to December 31, when the residents of this area were cut off from running water. Since then, they have denounced the local government’s inaction and the absence of any proposed solutions.
The area, which has four of its own wells, lost its running water supply on December 31. The situation sparked numerous complaints against the town hall, accused of not working for the benefit of the Les Planes del Rei community. For several days, residents say they had to rely on the help of two volunteers who performed temporary repairs to try to alleviate the crisis.
Bernardo Gallardo, a resident of Les Planes, explains that with the help of two other people, they managed to carry out repairs that partially restored the network’s functionality:
“In fact, the ones who repaired and restarted the water pumps were me and a couple of colleagues, along with other residents of Les Planes. Some technicians came through the urbanization, but at no time with the intention of repairing or intervening in the machinery,” he explains.
The town hall insists that the urbanization is private, and therefore it is not responsible for maintaining the internal water network. At the same time, it denies the residents’ claims of a total lack of water. According to Mayor Joan Maria Rovira, the distribution, pumping, and storage infrastructure inside the urbanization is managed by the Urban Entity of Les Planes del Rei, while the town hall only supplies water up to the neighborhood’s entrance. Regarding the outage, he denies that residents went several days without water, although he admits some may have experienced low pressure.
A draft agreement in progress
To avoid a recurrence of this situation, the Pratdip town hall is finalizing an agreement defining each party’s responsibilities in the event of similar incidents. The agreement will also involve the water distribution company.
The residents complain that they have not had access to the final text, having only seen a draft. This is underlined by Christian Peuman, president of the liquidating entity of Les Planes del Rei urbanization. He regrets that no solution was found earlier and says the agreement should have been drafted long ago. He adds that he wants to study the document carefully, especially in terms of potential costs for property owners in future incidents.
This agreement was widely discussed during this morning’s plenary session. The PSC proposed creating a working group composed of neutral parties to try to resolve the matter. This proposal was added as a motion in Tuesday’s plenary session.
The debate around the document even led to a heated exchange between Unidos Por Planas councillor Òscar Serrano and Mayor Joan Maria Rovira. The two traded accusations over the political context in which Serrano left the governing coalition. According to Rovira, this move paralyzed several municipal projects, including the water agreement.
At the end of the session, which lasted just over an hour, attendees left the town hall with signs denouncing the municipal handling of the crisis. Several residents spoke out. Evelyn Planet, a Les Planes resident, described the session as “scandalous.” A view shared by Abraham Ruiz, another neighbor, who referred to a total deadlock between the various parties in finding a solution.
The reception debate reopened
As of today, all homes in Les Planes del Rei are again supplied with water. However, residents complain of insufficient pressure. This latest crisis has reignited the debate over the official reception of the urbanization by the town hall — a project currently unfeasible due to ongoing legal proceedings, meaning any progress is likely to take a long time.
Ariadna Escoda Padilla
