News: Ornamental Lake Overview and Update
Introduction
This communication is designed to provide owners with an accurate account of the current situation with the ornamental lake. It includes some history to the lake, a recap of past events as well as information as to what has been done and what solutions might be available.
I want to start by saying that I sympathise with owners and residents on La Isla in relation to the condition of the lake and their concerns about the effect this has had on their health. The Urban Entity has been working all year with the ornamental lake working group to evaluate the problem and find solutions.
Background and water sources
The lake surrounding La Isla is actually owned by the town hall of Alhama de Murcia who in 2014 signed an agreement with the Urban Entity that, whilst they owned the lake, the maintenance and upkeep of the lake would be undertaken by the Urban Entity.
In April 2014 the Urban Entity agreed to separate the lake into 2 sections using dams. The reason for this was because it was not economically viable to maintain the whole lake area for irrigation purposes. This was due to the requirement for irrigation water to be of a certain quality which was impossible to achieve for the whole lake at the time. It was decided, therefore, with agreement from the council, that a smaller portion of the lake would be maintained and used for irrigation and the larger section left as an ornamental lake.
The minutes of the Urban Entity meeting clearly state that from this time the water level of the ornamental lake would be maintained purely by rainwater and excess water received from the water treatment plant. Using water from the desalination plant to fill the ornamental lake was not mentioned in the minutes. In most years since this time, rainwater has been sufficient to keep the level of water in the ornamental lake topped up. Consequently since 2014, with the exception of 2016, there has never been a requirement for a separate budgeted amount for desalinated water to be purchased for the ornamental lake in the Urban Entity budgets because the expectation was that rainwater would be sufficient (and in most years it was). The exception was in June 13, 2016 where it was agreed in a Urban Entity meeting that the UE would budget an amount for an additional 10,000 cubic Meters of water from the desalination plant to be added the ornamental lake.
Even though it has not always been budgeted for, there have been occasions when water from the desalination plant has been added to the ornamental lake from the irrigation water budget. This was both to increase the water level and also to provide a reserve for irrigation, with the intention of removing some or all of the water at some future point to use for irrigation if required. In 2018 an emergency water protocol was introduced to ensure that no water was removed for irrigation if the water level in the ornamental lake was too low and the minimum level of the lake was set. Since that time no water has been removed for irrigation from the ornamental lake. It is important to note therefore, that only once (in 2016) has money from community fees paid by owners (via the UE Budget) been used directly to pay for water for the ornamental lake.
In October 2023 it was recognised that the water level in the ornamental lake was decreasing, and there was an opportunity to add an amount of 10,000 cubic meters from the desalination plant to the ornamental lake instead of the irrigation lake. On the advice of STV and other experts, including the La Isla president at that time, it was decided not to add this water due to the already high salt content of the lake and without knowing the exact quality of the water in advance. It was not known at that time that the usual sources of water from the rainwater deposits would not be available for the next 12 months due to the ongoing drought conditions in Murcia.
In previous years all decisions regarding the lake and water levels were managed by a committee that, until recently was chaired by the President of La Isla. In the last few years many measures to improve the lake and water quality and deal with the increasing problem of rantelles have been proposed by the group and paid for by the Urban Entity. These have included some measures that have shown improvements such as introducing ultra-sound systems, and others that have had limited effect such as floating islands and silicone caps. But whether successful or not, all measures been proposed by the group were supported financially by the Urban Entity.
The amount of water allocated to the resort for irrigation is managed via a concession arrangement. In 2018 the resort succeeded in obtaining a water concession of 180,000m3 for the year, at a time when many other resorts did not manage to get anything. But this amount was well below the 320,000m3 required and requested by the community in 2016 - 2017. The amount of irrigation water we are entitled to receive through the concession, therefore, is well below the needs of the resort. Despite this, at no time has any water been taken from the ornamental lake for irrigation and the resort has tried to order as much water as possible over the past year. Irrigation over the whole resort has been vastly reduced to try and cope with the current extreme drought conditions.
As part of the ongoing need to reduce water requirements on the resort, the Urban Entity has previously supported projects to save water and will continue to do so. Phase 1 was the outer ring remodelling project and hopefully very soon we can again work with the council on the remodelling of the inner ring and some garden areas. This project is vital, not only to reduce our water usage, but also to prevent further damage to the infrastructure by many of the trees planted around the resort. The less water needed for irrigation purposes, the more we will have available to meet other requirements.
Current situation
It can be seen that the current situation with the lack of water in the ornamental lake has been caused predominantly by the lack of a rainwater supply over the last 2 years, combined with the reduction in the concession for desalinated water for irrigation and, therefore, no opportunity to purchase excess water for the ornamental lake (other than in October 2023 when the decision was taken not to do this).
Over recent years the amounts of water made available to the resort through the concession have consistently been far less than the amounts requested. Add to this the increased evaporation rate of the water in the ornamental lake (the lower the water levels get, the warmer the water gets and so the quicker it evaporates) and this has led to a dramatic drop in water levels over the summer of 2024.
At the recent Urban Entity EGM it was agreed that the next concession of desalinated water will be added to the lake as requested by the lake working group and the owners of La Isla. This water is only available for the ornamental lake because the council has provided the resort with an additional water supply for irrigation purposes, and we thank them for that. This supply has enabled the Urban Entity to continue with irrigation and the water concession can be transferred to the ornamental lake as requested. As long as we continue to receive the additional water source from the council, future concessions of desalinated water will be available to be used to fill the ornamental lake. This was voted for by the majority of the Level 2 presidents, with other board members abstaining. One L2 president asked that we explore the possibility of buying extra storage and saving the water for future use as they felt that any water put into the lake now would just evaporate in the future. This option will be costed and voted on in a future meeting. The Urban Entity had a deadline of until 23rd of September to order the September concession of water and therefore just 3 working days in which to make a decision. Obviously this was not enough time to explore the additional storage option but this proposal will be considered for the future. As mentioned above, the continued supply of desalinated water to the ornamental lake will only be possible if the council maintain the additional supply for irrigation. Consideration also has to be given to the fact that by the start of next summer, it is possible that approx 40% of any water that has been added to the ornamental lake may have evaporated. In the short term, however, covering the mud with water will both prevent the smell from affecting residents and will improve the lake aesthetically.
The next issue to consider is the cleaning of the lake. The Entity is fully aware of the health concerns of residents and visitors to La Isla as a result of the odours created by the lake drying up. Various samples were taken for analysis during the summer by both the Regional Environmental Health and the council, however to date the results that have been shared with the Urban Entity have not highlighted any heath risk to residents including a report from the health authority. Numerous companies have been contacted by inmho but they have been unable to find one that will conduct air quality tests.
There are differing views as to whether or not the lake needs to be cleaned. Whilst there are advantages to cleaning the lake in terms of improving water quality etc, the process of cleaning can disturb the lake’s ecosystem, temporarily harming fish, plants, and other organisms, and would stir up sediment, probably creating unpleasant odours. It would also cause significant disruption to residents during the process and may release toxins or nutrients trapped in the sediment back into the water. It is also important to recognise that removing the mud will effectively increase the volume of water required to re-fill the lake at a time when water is still an extremely scare resource in the region.
Some experts have previously advised the lake working group that the cleaning of the lake is not necessary, providing that sufficient water is maintained in the lake. They would argue that the mud can be a benefit for fish that may be introduced into the lake (for example to prevent any future problems with rantelles) and also for the planting of flora and fauna. The mud does not appear to create any odours whilst it is covered with water, so as long as there is sufficient water in the lake, the mud can be managed by natural means.
The cost and the practicality of removing the mud has also to be considered. Dredging is an expensive process, requiring specialized equipment and expertise and the costs can be significant. The quotes received so far range from 200,000€ to 1,000,000€ and that doesn’t include the disposal of the mud removed. This needs to be properly disposed of, which again will be costly (assuming that a suitable location can be found), especially if it contains pollutants or contaminants. Spending this amount of money on cleaning has to be balanced against whether it could be better spent on a long-term remodelling of the lake to reduce the possibility of it ever drying up again.
In terms of the finances, it can be seen from the Urban Entity accounts produced at the AGM that this amount of money is simply not available at present. There is a significant amount of money owed to the Entity by debtors, in fact only one of the commercial businesses that are part of the Entity is currently up to date with their fees. The Entity will be applying to the Council once again to ask for support in recovering these debts as quickly as possible.
The cleaning of the lake is clearly an emotive issue and at present there is no evidence-based direction for the Entity. At the recent EGM, the council was asked if there was any evidence base for their preferred option of cleaning the lake but the representative was unable to answer this question. The councillor was asked if the council could provide assistance by supplying technical reports offering possible long-term solutions regarding the ornamental lake, however he informed the meeting that they do not have the resources available to provide such reports. Consequently the Urban Entity members voted by a majority to commission two independent organisations with expertise in this area to provide reports detailing short, medium and long-term proposals for the future of the lake, including whether it is recommended to clean the lake prior to introducing any future changes. This should help provide a definitive answer to this question. These companies will be asked to make contact with the council technicians so they can include their input and the full report will be made available to the council as well as the Urban Entity.
The councillor at the meeting agreed that the council will hold regular meetings with a representative of the UE to ensure that all is done to remedy the current situation.
Other issues
There are a number of other issues I wish to clarify in order to counter some of the rumours and mis-information that has circulated recently, particularly on social media. Firstly, the Urban Entity has never asked or approached the council to change the lake from being filled with water to anything else. As part of a long-term solution for the lake, the ornamental lake working group has proposed that in order to better deal with severe drought situations in the future it would be advisable to consider reducing both the volume and the surface area of the lake, without impacting on the aesthetics, but only to reduce the amount of water required and the evaporation rate. There has never been any suggestion to fill the lake in.
The Urban Entity has never refused to meet or discuss the current situation with the council. Due to the short timescale presented by the council, relevant members of the UE were unavailable to attend the requested meeting and so alternative dates were proposed. No response was received from the council to these proposals.
A number of owners have been querying what has happened to their community fees that are paid towards the Urban Entity and why these have not been spent on maintaining the lake. The proportion of community fees paid by owners that is allocated to the Urban Entity is approximately 25%
Fig1 – Approx share of community fees (Slight variations for each community based on level2/3 fees)
This money is used as part of the overall UE budget which includes the gardening contract, irrigation water, electricity, maintenance of hydrants, drains, lampposts, pavements and various other infrastructure.
Reports have circulated via social media that in the last few years, the Entity has not requested or used its full concession of water for the ornamental lake. As explained above, the concession is for irrigation water, not specifically for the ornamental lake which is filled from the rainwater deposit and the wastewater treatment plant. During the months when the concession was not required for irrigation purposes then there was an opportunity to add it to the lake, but as already explained, based on expert advice, the decision was taken not to do so.
Maintenance of both the irrigation lake and the ornamental lake have been carried out using the funds allocated in the UE budgets, plus this year essential additional funding, when repairs have taken place in relation to the water circulation pumps for the ornamental lake. In addition, repairs at and cleaning of the rain water deposit reservoirs have recently been undertaken as they had become contaminated and the pumps had seized. This should in the future allow any large amounts of rain water to be transferred to the ornamental or irrigation lakes as required.
The purpose of this newsletter is to help owners understand the complexities behind the situation with the lake. The UE has never failed to budget water for the ornamental lake because, as agreed in 2014, the lake has only ever been allocated rainwater and excess water from the wastewater treatment plant. The current situation, therefore, has been caused by a lack of rainwater and an inability to access other sources of water to cover for the lack of rain (as explained in previous inmho communications). The community is doing everything in its power to try and remedy the problem. We fully understand how owners of La Isla have suffered, and this was recognised by the Level 2 Presidents at the Urban Entity meeting who are being supportive and also want the whole community to assist in this situation.
In order to improve future communication with owners, the community will create additional pages on the website to publish information on the progress on the lake as well as gardening and landscaping information. We aim to publish regular updates on developments, and if we can recover some of the monies owed to the UE, this will increase the speed at which we can improve the situation with the ornamental lake and invest in its long term future.
Neil Simpson
Urban Entity President
