Alicante and Water

I thought I'd write about how things are in Alicante, from my perspective, of course. No better place to start than my neighborhood.

On the old maps, my neighborhood was outside of the city walls, and was agricultural land. Later, as the city outgrew the old part, single storey houses were built from stone and cement, and each had a garden on the back side from the street, enclosed by stone walls and cement.

To recount a brief history, when the democratic Republic of Spain fell, Alicante was one of the last cities to fall to Franco. It was the port of the Republic, and the place where the founder of the extreme right wing Falange, José Antonio Prima de Rivera, was killed. Under Franco, the region therefore suffered economically. A plaza near where I live is named after Hitler's pope, Pio XII, and many of the streets are named for right wing idealogues. These places must have been renamed after the fall to Franco, but I've been unable to find information on renaming as of yet.

With the death of Franco in the 1970s, there was a huge wave of building. The little one storey houses were bought and demolished, and five storey apartment builings were put up. This was done to such an extent that most of the remaining one-storey houses have no sunlight for their gardens, or windows for that matter. This is still in process, and just last week another old place was demolished right down the street. That people can't grow their own vegetables anymore isn't so bad right now because there are thriving markets where you can buy very fresh and very cheap produce.

On the fringes of the city, huge apartment buildings are going up, and further out there are golfing communities. Last summer, there was talk of a severe drought, because Alicante is naturally a dry place, but also undoubtedly because of all the new water demands.

Between the new building on arable land and new lack of water, the farmers are getting squeezed. The Popular Party's answer was to divert a river, the Ebro, from up north to fuel further construction and golf courses. The PSOE's answer was to stop the project and authorize a desalination plant to be constructed. The Valencian Community is attempting to limit new construction, and is up against some very powerful lawyers who are saying that the proposed limits go against the agreements of the European Community. In any case, new construction is sure to outpace the growth of the water supply.

The logical consequence will be greatly increased water prices, importation of foods, meaning lower quality and higher prices, and ultimately a squeeze on the middle class. Both parents will need to work even longer hours to make ends meet, and the kids will be left on their own or with grandparents if they're lucky for most of the day.