Toledo.- The state commercial company Aguas de las Cuencas de España (ACUAES), of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO), continues to make progress in the installation of the pipes that will guarantee the supply of quality drinking water to the Campo de Calatrava, Daimiel and Ciudad Real from the Llanura Manchega Pipeline system with two work fronts already begun.

This has been confirmed during today’s visit to the works in Daimiel, in which the President of the Community Board of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, participated; the Government delegate in Castilla-La Mancha, José Pablo Sabrido; the second vice-president of the Board, José Manuel Caballero; the Councillor for Sustainable Development and President of Water Infrastructures of Castilla-La Mancha, Mercedes Gómez; the President of ACUAES, M.ª Rosa Cobo, and the President of the Community of Andrés de Caldenral. The deputy delegate of the Government in Ciudad Real, David Broceño, and mayors of the Comarca of Campo de Calatrava have also attended.

The delegation visited the works in Ramal 8A-3, 46.4 kilometers long, which connects Daimiel with the warehouse of Cerro Cabezuelo. In this stretch, the installation of pipes with a diameter of 600 mm has begun today.

ACUAES also works in Ramal 8A-B (Casa Bolot-Daimiel), also in the municipality of Daimiel, where 10.4 kilometers of the 11.8 expected have already been cleared, which represents 88% of the total. In addition, 5.3 km of trench has been excavated and 3.5 km of pipe with a diameter of 800 mm has been installed.

On 30 December, the re-examination report was signed, which gave the green light to the construction phase. Since then, and until the beginning of the placement of the pipe, work has been carried out on topographic checks, processing of authorizations, manufacture of the pipes, clearing of the trace, removal of trellis, communication to owners for the removal of irrigation pipes and marking of the work areas, in addition to archaeological surveys. Previously, and with the aim of not conditioning the start of the works, the expropriation of the 730 farms affected by the action had been carried out with 67% of mutual agreements.

On April 20, the installation of pipes began, with the expectation of completing the works in June 2028. The development of the works will allow to meet the established deadlines, with an installation rate of approximately 200 meters per day of pipe that will increase to 400 from the summer, once it is possible to advance in the areas with environmental restrictions.

The pipes of 800 mm in diameter are being manufactured in India while the rest, with diameters between 600 and 200 mm, comes from national production. Currently, the factory has a collection of 8,000 meters of pipe of 600 mm in diameter corresponding to a projected total of 36,765 meters. The manufacturer has committed to manufacturing another 10,000 meters of tubes over the next two months, which will allow progress to be made on the scheduled supply schedule for the operation.

It is expected that, from August, once the environmental restrictions in force between February and August for the nesting of raptors and steppe birds in certain sections are completed, up to four simultaneous work fronts can be maintained.

In order to make the development of the works compatible with the protection of the fauna and facilitate the work of environmental monitoring, the division of the action into six different sections has been agreed with the Natural Environment Service of the Ministry of Sustainable Development: Ramal 12 (Branch connecting to the general pipeline of the Manchega Plain), Ramal 8A-B (Casa Bolot-Daimiel) and four sections corresponding to Ramal 8A-3 (Daimiel-Reserva Cerro Cabezuelo).

This sectorization will allow to isolate in a timely manner those sections that may be affected by environmental conditions, at the same time allowing the continuity of the works in the previously released areas and thus minimizing afflictions at the pace of execution of the work.

Likewise, work will be allowed during the month of August, provided that environmental inspections confirm the absence of eagle pups or steppe birds in the nests existing in the operating environment.

In the next few days, the archaeological remains located in the section of Ramal 8A-B (Casa Bolot-Daimiel) between p7+200 and 7+720 will be manually excavated in order to determine their identity and allow the continuity of the works in conditions of safety and in accordance with the regulations of patrimonial protection.

As explained by the president of ACUAES, “we work to make the most of each available period and ensure that, despite the environmental restrictions and the remains found, such important works for Castilla-La Mancha can finish within the scheduled deadlines, making the progress of the actions compatible with the protection of the natural environment.”

He also stressed “the commitment of ACUAES to the development of strategic water actions to ensure supply, improve wastewater purification and guarantee the quality of life of the citizens of Castilla-La Mancha, especially in a context marked by climate challenges and the need for efficient water management”.

The investment executed by ACUAES in Castilla-La Mancha to date amounts to 798 million (VAT included), a figure that confirms the commitment of the Government of Spain and ACUAES to modernize the hydraulic infrastructures of the region and strengthen the resilience of municipalities against the effects of climate change.

Finally, M.ª Rosa Cobo has highlighted the importance of funding from the ERDF 2021-2027 funds, “which are key to undertaking strategic actions in the water sector, projects that guarantee a more sustainable development for municipalities and their citizens”.

MORE THAN 156,000 INHABITANTS BENEFITED

The action, whose project was drafted and processed until its approval by the Guadiana Hydrographic Confederation, includes the construction of eight new branches with 67 kilometers of pipes to guarantee the supply of drinking water of quality and in sufficient quantity to 37,000 inhabitants of the municipalities that supply the Vega de Jabalón Consortium and 18,000 inhabitants of Daimiel. In addition, this infrastructure will guarantee the supply in emergency situations to about 100,000 inhabitants who supply the Gasset reservoir, including Ciudad Real capital.

The action will be able to reach an investment of 95 million, which will be cofinanced by 65% percent with FEDER 2021-2027 funds, while the rest will be anticipated by ACUAES and recovered from Infrastructures of the Water of Castilla-La Mancha through tariffs within 25 years from the beginning of the exploitation, according to the agreement signed between both entities on May 25, 2025 for the financing, execution and exploitation of the works.